DALTON, Ga. — Traveling south down I-75, the Walker Valley Mustang tennis teams ventured into the Peach State to take the court against Dalton High School in an out-of-state matchup, that pitted the Mustang netters taking on a tradition-rich Dalton program. .
The Walker Valley boys started strong and never looked back as they captured all three double points on their way to a 9-0 sweep.
The doubles pairings of Jose Guerrero and Noah Ufer captured an 8-3 win, while Cael Coates and partner Turner Clayton matched teammates Cash Coates and Sam Taylor with 8-2 wins.
The singles lines proved equally as impressive as all six Mustang players notched wins including Mitch Brown with a 6-0, 6-3 win to cap the overall team win.
“Our guys played well in some windy conditions. I thought they had great energy from the start and did a great job of keeping the pressure on,” shared new WV head coach Eddie Coates.
However, the Lady Mustangs suffered their first loss of the season dropping the contest 3-6 against a strong Dalton lineup.
“We had a good chance to play a strong out of conference opponent and have some other girls get match play today," remarked Coach Coates. "Even with a loss, this was a great experience for our girls to prep for district matchups.”
The Lady Mustangs got singles wins from Leileigha Gerhardt and Ensley Collins to go along with a doubles win from the duo of Libby Dunkle and Ensley Collins.
Both Walker Valley teams will return to district play on Tuesday as the Mustangs will host McMinn County.
The Lady Cherokees, a 2023 TSSAA State Tournament Final Four team, will look to regain control of the district standings, while the Mustangs will hope to continue their recent dominance of their neighbors to the north. First serve is slated for 4:30 at the Walker Valley Tennis Complex.
