WCDS tennis column
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 24, 2011 2:00 PM
Always cautiously optimistic and pleased no matter the outcome, Wayne Country Day head girls' tennis coach Jo Ann Logan and her players felt this was their year.
Those dreams became reality Friday afternoon.
As twilight danced and shadows lengthened on the Wayne Community College courts, cameras flashed and captured a moment that will live in immortality. The Chargers earned a long-awaited triumph over Coastal Plains Independent 1-A archrival Greenfield School, which somehow manages to avoid defeat the last possible moment.
Not this time.
WCDS sealed the deal.
And it was truly a team effort.
Every serve, winning shot and unforced error favored the Chargers, who easily handled some opponents and took others down to the wire. Four WCDS players emerged champions -- Gianna Democko in singles and doubles, Sarah Best in singles and doubles, Katherine Roethling in doubles and Mack Thompson in doubles -- in the season-ending CPIC tournament.
All four earned All-CPIC honors.
"Everybody set the tempo in doubles ... big time," said Thompson, one of two seniors along with Roethling. "I was really pumped after we won and it brought a confidence booster, especially for Katherine. Later in the day we were all tired, especially myself, but it pushed us because we wanted this so bad."
There were no disappointments.
There were no missed opportunities.
WCDS finished either first or second on five of six singles courts, and received tremendous performances from Meredith Roethling and Mollie Catherine McDonald. McDonald dropped the first set and eventually lost in a 10-point super tiebreaker.
Logan delivered a simple message before play began under sunny skies and cool temperatures Friday morning. It came on the heels of a text message Logan sent to each player Thursday evening.
"I just told them that I was proud of them for what they had already accomplished this season, and to go out there and do the best you can," said Logan. "We've just got a good group of girls who get along well ... smile and laugh. We're intense, but not to the degree that we don't get upset about everything and I really think that helps."
Wayne Country Day (10-2 overall) shared the CPIC regular-season title with Greenfield this fall -- nearly one year after the teams tied for the CPIC tournament crown in 2010. They'll probably get another crack at each other later this week at the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A eastern regional at Barton College.
Regardless the outcome, the Chargers met their expectations.
Their preseason fantasy is reality.