Through a busy fall and wading through a tough, deep OHSL Freedom American division, the Jamesville-DeWitt girls tennis team would never take a blemish.
And it ended in style for the Red Rams as it met rival Christian Brothers Academy Wednesday afternoon and put together a 5-2 victory over the Brothers.
A day earlier, the Red Rams got a real push from Homer before emerging with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Trojans.
It hinged on third singles, where Jacqueline Mott lost the first set to Homer’s Abby McNamara, and then was pushed to a third-set tie-breaker, but still pulled out a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) victory.
Otherwise, the singles matches were split, J-D’s Elise Catania easily handling Shannon Spencer 6-0, 6-0, but Maggie Mannion taking a 6-2, 7-5 defeat to Katie Mercer.
The four doubles matches were split. Like Mott, the Rams’ tandem of Kim and Mai Dreisen had to come from behind, but was more dominant in the latter stages, rallying past Maddie Jennings and Ana Shore 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
That, plus seeing Jungyun Kim and Maya Pollock handle Lydia Brown and Brooke White 6-0, 6-3, provided J-D enough points. Julie Harrison and Arianna Hege could not maintain its hot start in an 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 loss to Rachel Crompton and Marissa Sackett, while Natalie Alweis and Julia Skeval fell to Christine Han and Victoria Shevchuk in a pair of 6-4 sets.
This led to the rematch against a CBA side that J-D had beaten 7-0 on Sept. 10. It wasn’t a sweep in the rematch, but the Rams did more than enough to win again.
Kim got it going, returning to singles and working past Hannah Werner 6-2, 7-5. Mannion earned a 7-6, 6-1 decision over Anna Kambhampaty, while Skeval met up with Rhea Saini and won 6-0, 6-4.
Three of the four doubles matches went to three sets, including a second doubles classic where CBA’s Alison Croucher and Shannon Roberts, two games from defeat, rallied and outlasted Alweis and Pollock 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Catania, paired with Melton, outlasted CBA’s Evie Lopoo and Mikayla Santulli 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, with Kim and Mai Driesen making their own comeback to top Hannah Kang and Raquel Santoro 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. CBA attained a quieter point when Sloane Nicoletti-Watson and Karen Simone beat Brooke LaFlair and Sarah Marron 7-6, 6-1.
Before all this, J-D put together its best forces and earned a 7-0 shutout over the Fulton Red Raiders.
Catania set the tone with her 6-0, 6-0 romp over Madison Coulton in first singles. Skeval followed, stopping Hannah Stanski 6-2, 6-1, while Mannion handled Maggie Williams 6-2, 6-2.
J-D only got one scare, in fourth doubles, where Sara Gow and Sonali Patel trailed early, but rallied to roar past MaKenna Cealie and Lina Helmstadter 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Otherwise, it proved one-sided. Kim and Pollock topped Carly Williams and Hope Williams 6-1, 6-1, with Alweis and Melton working quicker to stop Angeline Kimbrell and Mikayla Stoutenger 6-0, 6-1. Driesen paired up for a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Gina Babcock and Courtney Smith.
