The Trenton Lady Bulldogs were able to get their depth valuable playing time and earned a first-round bye by benefit of their excellent early season play, in Friday’s Benton Tennis Tournament in St. Joseph.
In three head-to-head team matches, THS reached the championship round with a 4-1 win over Bishop LeBlond and 3-2 semifinal win over Maryville, before falling to the #2 seed St. Pius X Lady Warriors 3-2.
In quarterfinal round action against LeBlond, Trenton went 1-1 with singles players Latorrie Johnson and Kendall Crowley, with Johnson falling to Brennah Davies 8-1, while Crowley doubled up Liberty Wigton 8-4. Trenton’s strong doubles play took over the match from there, as the team of Claire Utley and Lauren Dolan beat Bailey Bell and Alex Kempf 8-love, Samantha Mihalovich and Maddie Searcy defeated Tori Fender and Katie Wise 8-love, with Emma Gilham and Elle Neal shutting out Sydney Eckhardt and Tieler Salmons 8-love.
In the semifinals against the Spoofhounds, Trenton again split singles matches, with Crowley taking an 8-3 win over Caitlyn Burke, while Johnson fell 8-1 to Cayren Barnett. Doubles proved to be tighter, but THS prevailed with two wins in three matches, as Mihalovich and Searcy beat Goodridge and Hawthorne 8-2, while Gilham and Neal combined to down Hall and Gastler 8-5. Maryville’s team of Oglesby and Webb beat Trenton’s entry of Utley and Dolan 8-4.
In the final, Trenton’s singles were swept by Pius, with Maddie McDonald beating Latorrie Johnson and Megan McDonald downing Kendall Crowley, both by 8-love finals. The Lady Bulldogs rallied with doubles, as Mihalovich and Searcy beat DiMaggio and Brogoto 9-7, while Gilham and Neal took down Cherian and Carr 9-7, but the title went to the Warriors, with Katie Kallenberger and Maddie McCormick defeating Utley and Dolan 8-5.
With a busy week in their rear-view mirror, Trenton takes its 5-0 duals record into the Cameron Tournament on Wednesday, starting at 8 o’clock in the morning. Trenton will host St. Joseph Lafayette at 4 o’clock on Tuesday, September 12th.
