Minford’s Keira Cart hits a return during the Lady Falcons’ non-league girls tennis match on Wednesday against Athens.
Submitted photo
MINFORD — Indeed, it was a clean sweep of a week for the final week of August for the Minford High School girls tennis team.
That’s because the Lady Falcons captured four victories over four days —with three of those wins by 4-1 counts, and the initial one on Monday in a non-league contest at Ironton being a 5-0 sweep.
Minford sandwiched another non-league win, against Athens on Wednesday, around Southern Ohio Conference home victories on Tuesday and Thursday —against Wheelersburg and Valley respectively.
With Thursday’s win over visiting Valley, the Lady Falcons forged their consecutive matches won streak to six.
They are now 6-2, and 3-0 and atop the SOC —having defeated Notre Dame earlier in the season.
The Lady Falcons host the Lady Titans on Tuesday in another key conference clash.
All of the Minford triumphs over the past week were in straight sets —as in fact the only contest which did go three sets was the second singles match on Thursday, when the Lady Indians’ Mkenna Pelphrey edged out Ava Estep.
That was a three-and-a-half hour marathon, which concluded under the lights at Minford, and in which Pelphrey prevailed by taking the final two sets by 6-4 scores.
Minford senior Miranda Johnson, the first singles player, swept all four of her matches —and secured six straight individual wins.
The Lady Falcons’ first doubles team of fellow seniors Addi Lute and Kailey Shaffer did one better —sweeping all of their matches, including a shutout of Ironton on Monday.
Shaffer and Lute have won seven straight contests.
Four different Lady Falcons played the third singles spot —as Sophia Arnett against Ironton, Kylie Johnson against Wheelersburg, Kiera Cart against Athens and Leila Wheeler against Valley all won with straight sets.
The second doubles team of Ambreea Sowards and Allie McCray also had a 6-0 and 6-0 shutout —against Athens’ duo.
* * *
Minford def. Valley 4-1
No. 1 singles — Miranda Johnson (M) def. Maggie Mae Clark (V) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 singles — Mkenna Pelphrey (V) def. Ava Estep (M) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 singles —Leila Wheeler (M) def. Zaida Simion (V) 6-2, 6-0
No. 1 doubles —Addi Lute/Kailey Shaffer (M) def Kenzie Hawk/Amaya Strickland (V) 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 doubles — Ambreea Sowards/Allie McCray (M) def Lexi Munn/Izzy Boyd (V) 6-3, 6-0
* * *
Minford def. Athens 4-1
No. 1 singles — Miranda Johnson (M) def. Vlada Kiryukhin (A) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 singles — Lizzy Castelino (A) def. Ava Estep (M) 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 singles — Kiera Cart (M) def. Iris Kachenko (A) 6-2, 6-0
No. 1 doubles — Addi Lute/Kailey Shaffer (M) def. Giuliana Cutright/Addy McGarry (A) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 doubles — Ambreea Sowards/Allie McCray (M) def. Kenna Ausseress/Leah Swatzel (A) 6-0, 6-0
* * *
Minford def. Wheelersburg 4-1
No. 1 singles — Miranda Johnson (M) def. Josalynn Conley (W) 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 singles — Aby Jones (W) def. Ava Estep (M) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 singles — Kylie Johnson (M) def. Claire Kaltenbach (W) 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
No. 1 doubles — Addi Lute/Kailey Shaffer (M) def. Brooklyn Howard/Kohra Mowery (W) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 doubles — Ambreea Sowards/Allie McCray (M) def. Aly Floyd/Hannah Whitt (W) 6-0, 6-1
* * *
Minford def. Ironton 5-0
No. 1 singles — Miranda Johnson (M) def. Hannah Leith (I) 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 singles — Ava Estep (M) def. Allie Davis (I) 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 singles — Sophia Arnett (M) def. Laney Morgan (I) 6-0, 7-5
No. 1 doubles — Addi Lute/Kailey Shaffer (M) def. Lexi Barnes/Rachel Leith (I) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 doubles — Ambreea Sowards/Allie McCray (M) def. Jenna Compliment/Olivia Wilson (I) 6-2, 6-0
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