Boys tennis team second at Jefferson Invitational

Berkeley Springs High School Boys Tennis Team defeated Jefferson, 4-3, in the first round of the Jefferson Invitational on Saturday, March 17, in Shenandoah Junction before falling in the finals to St. Maria Goretti, 7-0.

Dakota Maravelis (#1 singles), Logan Webster (#2 singles), Maravelis and Brian Close (#1 doubles) along with Landon Orndorff and Chad Osborne (#3 doubles) collected the four points the Indians needed to defeat Jefferson. The Tribe was no match for Goretti in the final, but the win over Jefferson was a new benchmark for Berkeley Springs fledgling program.

"That is the first time in school history that we've beaten Jefferson's boys in tennis, so we are pretty excited about that," said Berkeley Springs first-year head coach Neil Heard. “For us to finish second here is pretty encouraging."

The girls team placed fourth, losing to Jefferson 5-2 and to Clarke County, Va. 4-3, in the third place match.
Kelsey Weimer (#1 singles) and Erin Close (#3 singles) had the two wins against the Cougars, while Becky Henry (#2 singles), Close (#3 singles) and the number one doubles team of Weimer and Close delivered the three points against the Clarke County Eagles.

Maravelis reached the number one singles final before losing, 8-3, to Aaron Hawk from St. Maria Goretti.
A day earlier, Berkeley Springs opened the season against Petersburg, in Petersburg.

The Girls won 5-2, while the boys fell 7-0.

Weimer (#1 singles), Close (#3 singles), Chelsea Breeden (#4 singles) won individual matches, while the number two doubles team of Henry and Breeden, along with the number three doubles team of Monica McBee and Courtney Smith rounded out the scoring.

Although the boys were shutout, Heard gave some praise to his number two singles player, Webster.

"Logan, a freshman, was playing his first varsity match and lost in a tiebreaker," said Heard. “He showed a lot of poise, under the circumstances."

When asked about the teams' progress, Heard said," I am very proud of the way they played. I see some good things and think the only way to go is up."

Berkeley Springs has a busy week ahead with matches against Hedgesville on Thursday, Clear Spring on Friday, St. Maria on Saturday and Moorefield on Monday.