The Highline College women’s tennis team returned to NWAC play with a well-deserved 6-3 victory over Treasure Valley Community College. The March 15 match, was played on Highline’s home court, the Boeing Employee Tennis Center in Kent at 8:30 a.m.
The day began with singles matches, where the Thunderbirds gained momentum by winning four of six matches. Highline’s top singles player, Sophia Crosby, put on a powerful performance, defeating Treasure Valley’s Elena Henry in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.
Caley Buchan continued with another strong performance, defeating Reese Beyrouty 6-1, 6-3. Henleigh Elder contributed to the team’s success, convincingly defeating Brenda Ramirez 6-0, 6-1. Anna Shved secured Highline’s fourth singles point with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Charlee Bennett.
Jack Harton/Highline Athletics
While the team enjoyed significant success in singles, two matches slipped away. Dani Carlisle lost a hard-fought battle against Zavier Lake 6-7 (5-7), 5-7, and Cassidy Pearson lost a three-set match against Fabiola Perez 1-6, 6-2, 6-10. Despite these setbacks, Highline finished the singles round with a 4-2 lead.
In doubles, the Thunderbirds maintained control, taking two of three matches. The duo of Sophia Crosby and Henleigh Elder dominated their match against Zavier Lake and Reese Beyrouty, with a resounding victory. On the next court, Caley Buchan and Adriana Barbee faced a tough pairing, Elena Henry and Brenda Ramirez, resulting in a loss for Highline.
However, the decisive point in doubles came through Zanna Orvald and Jeslyn Berry, who defeated Fabiola Pérez and Juárez to seal the doubles round 2-1 in favor of Highline. Overall, the Thunderbirds finished the match with a final score of 6-3, continuing their strong showing in the NWAC conference.
The victory came before a challenging visit to Florida, where Highline faced several highly competitive programs. The Thunderbirds lost 9-0 to Eastern Florida State College on March 21. and 7-0 to Palm Beach Atlantic University on March 23. On March 24, the team faced Freed-Hardeman University at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, where they put up a tough fight, ultimately falling 5-2.
Despite the difficult non-conference schedule, the experience gained from facing nationally competitive programs appears to have paid off.
