Girls’ Tennis
Mustangs Advance to Regional Finals;
#1 Doubles Team of Repper and Kang Are Regional Champs

By Margaret Lipman (May 31, 2006)

After defeating Clarke County 9-0 to win the District Championship, the George Mason High School Girls’ Tennis team continued its winning streak in the Regional Team Semifinals on Tuesday.  The Mustangs advanced to the Regional Team Finals with a resounding win over Stonewall Jackson High School.

Next, the Mustangs will travel to Goochland High School on Thursday to battle for the Regional championship, which will determine which team will represent Region B at the State Championship next week in Radford, Virginia.  In the Team Semifinals, the Mustangs’ strong singles lineup convincingly closed out Stonewall Jackson with a score of 5 –1.  The semifinal was awarded to George Mason because the Mustangs had already won a majority of the possible nine matches.  Clearly demonstrating their improvement over last year, the Mustangs overcame the sweltering heat and the lack of a home court advantage.  Freshman Michelle Repper (#1), seniors Maura Ehmer (#2) and Eleanor Kang (#3), and junior Margaret Lipman (#6) all won two consecutive sets by a margin of at least three games.  Although junior Anna Duning (#4) lost her first set 4-6, she made a very strong comeback and won the next two sets 6-0 and 6-1.   

Although the Mustangs will need to defeat Goochland on Thursday to advance to States as a team, the Mustangs’ #1 doubles team of Repper and Kang ensured themselves a slot in the State finals with a win in the Region B Doubles Championship on Saturday.  In a very close match against Goochland, the Mustangs pulled through with two tiebreakers, winning their sets 7-6 and 7-6.