Oxford tops crosstown rival Lafayette on the tennis courts

Published 10:12 pm Wednesday, March 7, 2018

The crosstown rivalry between Lafayette and Oxford took over the tennis courts on Wednesday afternoon. The 10-time state champions flexed their muscle with a 6-1 win over the rival Commodores at the John Leslie Tennis Courts.

The singles powerhouse duo of Bo Nash and Grace Anne Jones defeated their competition in straight sets. Nash took a 6-0, 6-0 win over Lafayette’s Dawson Welch and Jones defeated defending 4A singles champion Ally Bowen 6-1, 6-2 in the girls’ singles.

“Nice match on a cold, unpleasant day,” Oxford coach Louis Nash said. “Did some good things on a lot of courts. The kids are making progress and that’s all a coach can ask.”

Email newsletter signup

Oxford (6-0) continued it’s dominance in boys’ doubles as the teams of Ryan Mounce and Eli Abel and Dawning Koestler and Edward Hu each won their matches in straight sets (6-0, 6-0).

Lafayette (2-2) picked up its lone win of the day, splitting the girls’ doubles matches. Emma Wilson and Halle Moore defeated Oxford’s Addie Grafton and Abby Mounce in straight sets (6-3, 7-5). Emmie Stevens and Sarah Ann Ratliffe defeated Lafayette’s Lucy Wilson and Sara Moore in straight sets (7-5, 6-3).

“We competed today against a great Oxford team,” Lafayette coach Debbie Swindoll said. “We are improving and looking to make a run in (Class) 5A this year.”

Savannah Nagle and Mack Schusselin defeated the Commodore team of Colby Knight and Lilly McElreath in straight sets (6-1, 6-0) to claim the mixed doubles point.

Oxford travels to the Sunshine State this weekend with a pair of matches in Pensacola, Florida while Lafayette takes an extended Spring Break. They will host West Point on March 19 to open region play.