Like in all sports, experience in tennis is often the difference between a win and a loss. The mental aspect of the game of tennis is often overlooked as most players do not think much about what they are doing on the court. In big matches, nerves often creep in and overshadow any strategy that players worked on before the match.
Halle Medine experienced these nerves at this week’s Division II, Region 3 Tournament. Luckily, she leaned on her twin sister, Leah, for support when the stakes got high.
Leah has felt Regional pressure before. She was the Division II, Region 3 Girls Singles Runner-Up her freshman year and won the title of Regional Champion her sophomore year. Both years, Leah finished as a State Quarterfinalist.
“Leah has more experience in big matches than Halle,” said Head Coach Brent Broussard. “Halle had some nerves early in a few of the matches, but she was able to settle down as the matches went on. Leah having that experience certainly helped settle Halle.”
The Medines were given the number one seed by the coaches at the tournament seeding meeting which was held before the tournament. This ensured that they would not have to face another seeded team on the first day of the tournament and also gave them a first round bye.
After a slow start in their first match, the twins finished strong, moving to the quarterfinals of the tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. The victory also booked their ticket to the State Tournament. Their second match of the day ended with the exact same score to send them to the Semifinals.
Day two of the tournament started with Halle and Leah facing the fourth seeded team in the tournament. The girls moved onto the finals with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
In the finals, nerves slowed the path to victory, but could not stop it. After a shaky start, the Medines were down 3-2 in the first set. Halle and Leah won ten of the next eleven games to claim the championship with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Sophomores Dylan Aucoin and Brady Bertrand qualified for the 2021 Divison II State Tennis Tournament.
In the boys doubles draw, the second court team consisting of Dylan Aucoin and Brady Bertrand qualified for the State Tournament by advancing to the Quarterfinals of Regionals with two wins. The boys rolled through their first round match with a 6-0, 6-0.
The second round match, with a trip to the State Tournament on the line, was much more difficult. The Panthers dropped the first set 4-6, before storming back to win the second set 6-1. The third set tiebreaker came down to the wire, with Dylan and Brady coming away with the 10-8 win.
Other top performers from Woodlawn’s Tennis program were Christian Jones and Miriam Lindsay, who finished the tournament with a 1-1 record and fell just short of qualifying for the State Tournament, and Maxwell Bayles, who played an exciting two hour match before bowing out by the score 7-6 (4), 7-5.
