NORTH MANCHESTER – Mother Nature forced Tuesday’s match into a delay, but couldn’t keep Manchester’s girls tennis team from beating Three Rivers Conference rival Whitko 5-0. The host Lady Squires started strong and held leads on all five courts when play was delayed because of wind and lightning. When action resumed, Manchester won each match in straight sets, losing just 10 games in 10 sets. The No. 2 doubles team of seniors Morgan McKee and Marret Metzger scored Manchester’s first team point, beat Whitko freshmen Natalie Iholtz and Blair Creamer 6-1, 6-1. In the second match to finish, senior Claire Barnett beat Whitko junior Mikayla Finley 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Barnett is now 9-1 on the season. The Lady Squires wrapped up the team victory when the No. 1 doubles team of junior Reilly Ruppert and sophomore Leiah Brandenburg topped freshman Jackie Westler and sophomore Aurelia Slusher 6-1, 6-0. At No. 1 singles, Manchester junior Allison Smith beat sophomore Morgan Keirn 6-2, 6-2. And at No. 2 singles, Manchester sophomore Karly Eichenauer beat sophomore Delaney Keirn 6-0, 6-2, improving her season record to 8-1. “This was a good match to work on certain aspects of our games that needed improvement,” said Manchester coach Joel Eichenauer. “We were comfortable enough to try new shots and different strategies. We once again have a strong team, but we need to keep improving each night to surprise some teams at the sectional.” The Lady Squires are now 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
