The boys and girls tennis teams from Marriotts Ridge continued its strong seasons by knocking off Glenelg by a score of 4-1 in both match-ups on May 3.
The Mustang girls improved to 13-0, while the boys moved to 10-3 with the win.
Star singles player Abby Thornton teamed up with Anna Xi to win the No. 1 girls doubles match over Gladiators Emma Sedlack and Anna Hall, which opened the door for freshman Veronica Cuellar to play No. 1 singles. She beat Glenelg's Megan Wright, 8-1.
"She's a really solid freshman. She has a very high tennis IQ, so she's able to use a variety of game plans," said Marriotts Ridge coach Scott Dingman.
Dingman also noted that one of the biggest strengths of his girls' team is the versatility and the ability to use Cuellar as the No. 1 singles player and move Thornton to doubles according to the match-up.
"I think it makes a huge difference," he said. "We were in a similar situation last year... If we move Abby to doubles and play her to singles. When you can get one instead of two, it makes a huge difference. With how consistent Veronica has been it's given us some versatility and it's been a huge factor because we've won a lot of matches 3-2 and that's been the deciding factor a lot to move Abby to a spot where we need a tough win."
The other two Marriotts Ridge girls doubles teams of Mifrah Baqai and Avani Bagugu and Preeti Bairi and Audrey Illig also won, while Glenelg's only victory came from No. 2 singles player Lauren Arena. The loss drops the Gladiators' girls team record to 10-3.
On the boys side, the Mustangs earned four wins from No. 2 singles player Hassaan Mastoor, and all three doubles teams of Cade Buch and Stephen Alam, Duncan Tilles and Ishan Shah, and Jon Dryja and Aaron Chiang.
The biggest victory was the No. 1 doubles team of Buch and Alam, who beat Glenelg's team of Shawn Witschen and Reece Maiden, 8-6. Gladiators coach Brett Schwartzbart said he fully expects a rematch in next week's county championships at Wilde Lake Tennis Center.
"I believe those two doubles teams are the best in the county. We haven't lost any before today," said Schwartzbart, whose boys and girls teams dropped to 10-3 after the loss. "I do expect a strong showing from my team at the county tournament and his team as well. I expect them to meet in the finals."
With only a handful of matches remaining before the county championships, Dingman said he thinks his Mustangs will be in the mix to compete for the County Cup alongside Glenelg, River Hill and Howard.
"I think we have a promising chance for sure," he said. "But like I've been telling the kids all year long, we've got to take it one game at a time and try to keep your focus throughout the whole match."