D-B boys, West Ridge girls have good day on the courts

KINGSPORT — Dobyns-Bennett's Emery Corpstein has goals finishing off his senior year in style. Corpstein reached the individual state semifinals each of the last two seasons. He obviously leads the Indians once again. Midway through the season in Monday's match against West Ridge, Corpstein looked the part of a state contender. He easily won 8-0 in No. 1 singles and 8-0 in No. 1 doubles teaming with Adam Fields on the Indians' home courts. Fields won his No. 2 singles match 8-2, and the Indians were off the courts quickly at No. 3 where Liam Taylor posted an 8-1 victory and at No. 4 with an 8-4 win by Thomas Krcal. "You can't replace Emory. We're very happy to have him," Dobyns-Bennett coach Kaelin Toney said. "With him and Adam Fields, it's a strong 1 and 2. Our boys, Liam and Thomas at 3 and 4 are also very solid. After that, there's a little rebuilding on the boys' team." Still, it was an impressive outing for the Indians as Taylor and Krcal won their No. 2 doubles match 8-2, and Arnish Nagre teamed with Luke Bales for an 8-4 win at No. 3 doubles. Nagre won 8-2 at No. 5 singles, and Eli Horton, playing at No. 6 singles, also won his match to give the Indians a sweep. Dobyns-Bennett fell behind early on the girls' side when the lost all three doubles matches. They came back to No. 4 singles as Kelia Jackson rolled to an 8-0 victory. No. 2 Evelyn Humbert and No. 5 Leah Nakhoul each scored quick 8-3 victories. "There is some rebuilding on the girls' side with only one senior," Toney said. "We're a pretty young team, but we have some young leaders that have been playing since their freshmen year. Obviously, the boys' team is more experienced, but the girls have stepped up and proven themselves." The girls' match went down to the wire. West Ridge's Anna Thurman scored a hard-fought 9-7 victory over Mulan Mu. In the back-and-forth battle, Thurman rallied from being down 30-0 in the final game. Still, Toney is happy how Mu has progressed. "Mulan has done well. She's always played near the top, so she's done well in that role," Toney said. "She has the experience to know what it's like to play those competitive matches. It's good to see her play No. 1 and lead our team as a junior. Our 1 through 8 are really solid, and some spots could be interchangeable." Monday was the start of a big week for Dobyns-Bennett with matches against Science Hill on Tuesday and Tennessee High on Thursday. LADY WOLVES WIN The Wolves are opposite of the Indians as the girls have more experience than the boys with the top six all returners. Coach John Reed Barnes was glad to see an area of improvement for West Ridge on Monday. "I'm trying to get all our girls in doubles to be more aggressive," Barnes said. "I feel like that's held us back the last couple of years. We have great strokes and are learning to play, but sometimes we lack the aggression at the net. I was really proud of our No. 1 doubles for becoming more aggressive late in that match. Our top six girls are all returners." Barnes was referring to the No. 1 doubles team of Anna Thurman and Piper Quillen winning their last four games to take an 8-4 victory. The No. 2 team of Isla Lewis and Campbell Skinner won 8-3, a score matched by the No. 3 doubles team of Gracie Stiltner and Sydney Gray. While they're all juniors and sophomores, Barnes feels they have a chance to do something special at the end of the season. West Ridge clinched the match with wins at No. 3 singles by Quillen, No. 5 singles by Gray and the thriller at No. 1 by Thurman. On the boys' side, it's a mixture of players who have some experience and some brand new to the game. Will Holmes plays at No. 1 singles for West Ridge and No. 2 is Shepherd Johnson. No. 3 through No. 6 in the Wolves' lineup on Monday consisted of Tucker Moody, Warren Hamilton, Elliot Adams and Jake Green. "The boys are a work in progress. We have some new guys that have never played tennis before," Barnes said. "I think some of them may have taken for granted just how tough of a sport it is. They figured out quickly that it's really competitive. But, they've hung in there and continued to get better even though the scoreboards haven't been in our favor."