PHOTO BY STEVE BEARDEN - STC junior Presley Vest gained the first win for STC on the young season in Oskaloosa.

STC junior Presley Vest gained the first victory on the young season for the STC girls tennis team when she won her match in Oskaloosa on Thursday, Aug. 20. Matching up against the Indians’ Isis Edwards in #3 singles play, Vest jumped out to a 4-1 lead and ended up dominating the match by winning 8 games to Edwards’ 3.

Senior Mady Broiskey (#1) and junior Ava Boldt (#2) continued to play in the top two singles-play positions for the Trojans. Boriskey fell to Oskaloosa’s Jillian Parks, 8-3, while Boldt battled hard against the Indian’s Hailey Montgomery but fell, 8-6. STC head coach Steve Bearden noted that he believed it was Boldt’s top performance so far this season, as she ‘showed maturity and experience to battle back from an early 4-2 deficit.’

Sophomore Kendra Svacina (#4 singles; 8-4), senior Grace Gomez (#5 singles; 8-1), and junior Amilia Bullshoe (#6 singles; 8-0) all dropped their singles matches for the Trojans.

In doubles play, all three of STC’s pairings turned in competitive matches. Boriskey and Boldt (#1) fought hard but fell in their match, 8-5. Vest and Svacina (#2) and Gomez and Bullshoe (#3) also hung with Oskaloosa’s teams but lost 8-3 and 8-2 respectively.

“Today’s meet was what we have been looking for throughout the early season,” said Bearden after the trip to Oskaloosa. “We competed with grit and we showed some steeliness in our games. I am very proud of each and every player.”