ROGERS — Rogers Heritage sophomore Ellen Lundy made sure the Lady War Eagles came away with a season-opening victory Thursday afternoon.
Lundy and partner Emily Pappas ground out a tough 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles, then she won 8-2 at No. 3 singles.
Her singles victory was the difference maker as Heritage claimed the 4-3 win over Van Buren in the high school tennis opener for both teams at the Rogers High courts.
But things were a little different on the boys side as Van Buren rallied from a 3-2 deficit by winning each of the top four singles matches to take the 6-3 win.
Lady War Eagles coach Matthew Fulton was proud of his team’s work all around. But he specifically praised the play of sophomore Pratheepa Ravikumar, despite the fact she lost at No. 1 singles.
Van Buren’s Jessica Word, who with her sister, Jennifer, finished third at the Class 7A State Tournament last year, battled back after dropping the first set to claim a hard-fought 5-7, 6-1 (11-9) win over Ravikumar. The match lasted right at two hours.
Ravikumar trailed 7-3 and 9-7 in the tiebreaker to 10, but roared back to tie it at 9-9. However, Word earned the final two points for the win.
Fulton liked the way Ravikumar battled back, after struggling in the second set.
“That first set, both girls were just hitting great shots corner to corner,” Fulton said. “But Jessica Word, she pushed back in that second set and showed up strong. But I was really proud of Pratheepa, she reset herself and forgot about that second set. Both players deserve credit for showing us a high level of tennis.”
Van Buren boys and girls tennis coach Brandy Mosby was equally proud of Word’s work. “It was huge,” Mosby said. “She really played well and was solid throughout the match.”
The boys match went a little differently as Van Buren won the final four singles matches to claim the team victory.
Despite trailing 3-2, Mosby said she was still confident in her team.
“Our number one guy, we share him with football,” Mosby said. “He’s our kicker. They are all hard workers and solid players. They worked on a good weight program and I can tell their hitting accuracy and strength are improving.”
Heritage junior Patrick Green helped the War Eagles pick up two of their three wins. Green won at No. 6 singles 8-4, then teamed with Michael Yawn to win 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.
Heritage boys coach Taylor Tinsley said Van Burn was just a better team on Thursday.
“They’re a solid team one to six,” Tinsley said. “They came through. I’m still proud of our guys. We had a couple losses that could have gone either way.”
Heritage will host Fort Smith Southside in a 7A-West Conference match beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Rogers High courts.
Girls High School Tennis
Rogers Heritage 4, Van Buren 3
Singles
No. 1: Jessica Word, VB, def. Pratheepa Ravikuma, 5-7, 6-1 (11-9).
No. 2: Kaylee Hamilton, RHHS, def. Priscilla Diaz, 8-0.
No. 3: Ellen Lundy, RHHS, def. Sierra Meade, 8-2.
No. 4: Logan Moore, VB, def. Meaghan Charles, 8-6.
No. 5: Brittany Yeamon, VB, def. Taylor Kindell, 8-5.
Doubles
No. 1: Lundy/Emily Pappas, RHHS, def. Meade/ Diaz, 8-6.
No. 2: Kirsten White/Emily Henbest, RHHS, def. Yeamon/Moore, 8-1.
Boys
Van Buren 6, Rogers Heritage 3
Singles
No. 1: Houston Ray, VB, def. Alex Wiench, 8-4.
No. 2: Ben Lanier, VB, def. Octavio Trujillo, 8-0.
No. 3: Taylor Needham, VB, def. Lucas Raleigh, 8-3.
No. 4: Josh Lee, VB, def. Michael Yawn, 8-4.
No. 5: Jim Parker, RHHS, def. Levi Hayes, 8-5.
No. 6; Patrick Green, RHHS, def. Sam Hill, 8-4.
Doubles
No. 1: Lee/Needham, VB, def. Trujillo/Wiench, 9-8 (8-6)
No. 2: Hayes/Hill, VB, def. Raleigh/Park, 8-2.
No. 3: Yawn/Green, RHHS, def. Ray/Lanier, 8-6.