All Atlee Final Set

by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond

Shao-Ching Tu and Rebekah Ferguson are true teammates.

The Atlee duo won their semifinal matches by the same score, 6-3, 6-2, advancing to Thursday's Capital District singles final at Burkwood Swim and Racquet Club around 4:30 p.m.

Tu, who shared district player-of-the-year honors with Hanover's Nicole Holler, was expected to be in the final.

After falling behind 2-0 to Lee-Davis senior Hannah Boutwell, the sophomore found her powerful groundstrokes to defeat a game Boutwell.

"She's a very, very powerful player," Boutwell said of Tu. "I felt like I did really well because I did keep up. We had some great points. It was a really great match."

Said Tu: "It feels great. I don't know how to describe it. It feels like all of my hard work has paid off."

Hard work is what Ferguson had Wednesday. The seventh seed in the tourney, she topped Lee-Davis' Dawn Savage in the round of 16 6-0, 6-3 before she started pulling upsets.

Ferguson bounced Henrico's Suzanne Lindquist, the second seed and a Central Region tourney participant in 2007, 7-5, 7-5. Then she took out third seed Holler with her non-stop playing style.

Both Raiders will advance to the region tournament, regardless of Thursday's outcome.

"It's the first time I've ever gone to the district tournament," Ferguson said. "I know Shao-Ching's game well, so it should be a good match."

Kaitlyn Whitaker (Hanover) d. Maryiellen Hagy (Henrico) 6-1, 6-0; Candace Taylor (Highland Springs) d. Gaylen Remley (Varina) 6-0, 6-0; Charity Hart (HS) d. Jasmin Lynch (Varina) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5; Rebekah Ferguson (Atlee) d. Dawn Savage (L-D) 6-0, 6-3
Shao-Ching Tu (Atlee) d. Whitaker 6-1, 6-1; Hannah Boutwell (Lee-Davis) d. Taylor 6-3, 6-3; Nicole Holler (Hanover) d. Hart 6-1, 6-1; Ferguson d. Suzanne Lindquist (Henrico) 7-5, 7-5
Tu d. Boutwell 6-3, 6-2; Ferguson d. Holler 6-3, 6-2