Unified Tennis Team Wins Counties — Six Students Qualified for States
WHS Lions Pride Original Story:
by Kaitlyn Culpepper
Walkersville High School should be proud of our unified tennis team—they won counties this past week and six people on the team qualified to go to state competitions.
When I went to interview coach Debra Phebus, she informed me that Middletown was where the county district match was held and that out of three divisions, we won #1. She admitted that “it was a huge surprise” since two of our teams “won their first game there” but that she was “very excited and very proud.”
Phebus went on to say that the competition was “extremely tough,” and one of the matches lasted for a whole two hours. The win is made even more impressive by the fact that there were two disabled students on the team, and it was a very windy day as well. “Think of foam tennis balls in the wind,” Phebus said.
When asked if the other teams were tough to beat, sophomore Kathy Krantz said, “They played well; they knew what they were doing. Everyone was on their A-game.” She was “very proud of [her partner] Owen,” and was glad “to see improvement from the first practice to now.”
It is clear that playing alongside one another builds connections between the players. Team member and senior Gina Ciocco mentioned her partner as well. “Sebbie was really happy,” she said. She also said that the other teams were “not tough at all.” If we keep that confidence up, hopefully WHS will crush at States!
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