The spring 2019 tennis season opened in style for East Central Community College as both the men's and women's teams picked up wins on the road against Marion Military Institute in Marion, Ala., Friday, Feb. 1.
The ECCC Warriors shutout the No. 17 nationally ranked Marion Tigers 9-0, while the Lady Warriors picked up an 8-1 tennis win over the shorthanded Marion Lady Tigers.
"It was a gritty effort by our men's team and a tremendous first match," said ECCC head coach Jay Pacelli. "Their effort and spirit made a big difference. On the women's side, we played well against an undermanned Marion Military Institute team."
Men's Doubles Results:
EC's Chris Lawrance (York, Western Australia) and Isaac Santitto (Innisfail, Queensland, Australia) defeated Blake Brown and Nathen Johnson, 8-0; EC's Dylan Barnett (Newton County) and Peyton Chaney (Newton County) defeated Dominique Ingram and Vance Llewellyn 9-7; and EC's Isaac Keen (Winston Academy) and Jake Wofford (East Webster) defeated Thomas Chairs and Dustin Matthews, 8-6.
Men's Singles Results:
EC's Lawrance defeated Brown, 6-2, 7-5; EC's Santitto defeated Chairs, 6-0, 6-1; EC's Barnett defeated Ingram, 6-2, 6-4; EC's Keen defeated Llewellyn, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8; EC's Wofford defeated Johnsen, 6-1, 6-3; and Dominick Donaldson (Florence) defeated Alex Mathaos, 6-4, 6-2.
Women's Doubles Results:
EC's Ali Grace Walker (Newton County) and Josie Hurst (Newton County) defeated Ksenia Vasilyev and Gianna Azzaro, 8-5.
Women's Singles Results:
Vasilyev beat EC's Gabriela Gomez (Bogota, Colombia), 8-2; EC's Bethany Wellerman (Newton County Academy) defeated Azzaro, 8-5; and EC's Kayla Baucum (Newton County) defeated Samika Lewis, 8-0.
The Lady Warriors won all other matches by default.
Next up for East Central are the home openers against Jones College on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m. at the Tennis Complex on the ECCC campus in Decatur. The Jones men are ranked No. 25 in the most recent Oracle/ITA NJCAA national rankings, while the Jones Lady Bobcats are ranked No. 17.
The Warriors and Lady Warriors will host Blue Mountain College (Miss.) Friday, Feb. 8, also at 2 p.m. in Decatur.