Triad’s MVC Dominance Continues As Girls Tennis Team Claims Conference Championship

By Anthony Jones

Over a month ago, on September 5 Triad’s varsity tennis team lost to the Belleville East Lancers 5-0. Since then, the team has won fifteen matchups and two different tournaments.

On October 6, battled Marquette Catholic at Lewis and Clark Community College. The Lady Knights won this match with relative ease by a final score of 8-1. This moved their record to 18-2 on the season.

Four different players managed to win twice for Triad. These four were Sami Hartoin, Haley Jackson, Gracie Markland, and Karen Speer. In doubles, Jocelynn Carmody dominated for an 8-0 win at #1, while Adrian Liley claimed an 8-2 victory at the #3 slot. Darian Liley breezed through for an 8-0 win at #4 in singles action.

Next up on the schedule for Triad was the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament. Kicking off the tournament this past Friday was the doubles portion hosted in Mascoutah. Triad earned a tally of 18 points on that first day, which was more than double the score of second place Jerseyville.

Triad swept the top three flights in the doubles portion of the tournament. Taking home the title at #1 was the duo of Jocelynn Carmody and Haley Jackson who won 6-2, 7-6. The pairing of Gracie Markland and Darian Liley claimed the crown at the #2 spot for the Lady Knights. Karen Speer and Sami Hartoin claimed the #3 doubles title.

The next day featured the singles competition, split between Triad High School and Tri-Township Park. Triad easily maintained their overall lead to claim the Mississippi Valley Conference title. Their total of 48 points put them 18 ahead of second place Highland.

Just as she did in doubles, Carmody won the crown at the #1 spot for Triad. The #2 title was claimed by Jackson on behalf of the Lady Knights as well. Liley, a senior, brought home another title from #4 and Hartoin claimed the #6 title as well.