Blazers sweep Wheaton, improve to 2-0

Coming off of a tough win at B-CC, Blair made quick work of Wheaton Thursday with a 7-0 victory. No matches went to a third set on a day where Blair players lost a total of only seven games.

Coach David Ngbea noted that there was a "great disparity" in the level of play between Division I Blair and Division III Wheaton.

In one of the first matches to finish, freshman first singles player Stephanie Paul frustrated her opponent en route to a 6-0, 6-0 win. Paul played consistently, forcing her opponent to make numerous mistakes. The Wheaton player made five unforced errors in the first game alone, followed by three double faults in the second game.

Senior second singles player Lisa Kim and junior fourth singles player Valerie Shen also swept their opponents, 6-0, 6-0, while senior Christina Feng had a slightly harder time of it, 6-1, 6-0, on the third singles court.

Kim often used well-placed drop shots to set up deep topspin forehands to easily win her match. She played aggressively, forcing her opponent to move all over the court while she stood at the base line. Despite the weak opponent, Kim believes that the win builds confidence for upcoming matches. "We need to know we can always swing out," she said.

On the first doubles court, juniors Aditi Bhaskar and Katherine Epstein took advantage of poor net play and hit hard service returns in a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Other doubles winners included sophomore Seema Kacker and junior Emily Tsui, 6-1, 6-1, and freshmen Margot Pass and Dominique Franson, 6-0, 6-2.

Girls' tennis looks to avenge last season's 4-3 loss to Walter Johnson in their first division match of the season next Tuesday, Sep 17.