Tyrone senior Nicole Ramsey and Bellwood-Antis’s Ezri Bumgarner were both satisfied with their results at the District Tennis Doubles Championships this past Monday and Wednesday.
Monday, September 29th
Ramsey and Bumgarner entered the tournament as the third seed, so they were granted a bye in the first round.
Entering the quarterfinals, the two faced Central’s number two doubles, Breslyn Beech and Taryn Walters, and won 6-1, 6-4, earning them a spot in the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Ramsey and Bumgarner faced the number two seed, Central Cambria’s Taryn Ream and Madison Dietz, in a 3-set match. Tyrone won the first set 7-5.
“When we won the first set, it was like an eye-opener for me while playing. Making the semifinals has been the goal the past two years, but winning the first one made me realize we could actually make it to the final,” Ramsey said.
“The first set of our semifinals was calm; we didn’t get worked up and stayed focused,” Bumgarner said.
In the second set, after a lot of long points and games, Central Cambria won 6-1. With the two teams both having a set under their belts, the match had to go into a third set.
In the third set, the score kept going back and forth, with both teams not being able to break the other team’s serve. After playing long points and games just like in the second set, Ramsey and Bumgarner earned their spot in the final, winning 6-4.
“We went into a third set and managed to pull through for a while. District Doubles was an awesome experience. Our teammates played well, and we overall played amazingly,” Bumgarner said.
“Nicole and Ezri played tremendous tennis during the District Doubles Tournament. They knocked off the #2 seeded team from Central Cambria and then almost beat the defending champions in the finals, losing in a very close 3-set match,” the Tyrone tennis head coach Randy Irvin said.
Wednesday, October 1st
Ramsey and Bumgarner entered the finals of doubles against Central’s number one doubles.
Ramsey and Bumgarner played a very good set and brought most of their energy to the court, winning their first set against their opponents 4-6.
“I was really excited when we won the first set. It was eye-opening realizing that we could actually win,” Ramsey said.
“The first set was exciting because we did so well,” Bumgarner said.
Going into the second set, Ramsey and Bumgarner played well but came to a loss in the second set, 6-2
“Going into the third set, I wasn’t really nervous because I knew we didn’t have any pressure on our backs, but I knew we were going to have to play the best we ever have to beat them,” Ramsey said.
Well, Ramsey and Bumgarner put up a fight, but they eventually came to a devastating loss in the third set, 6-2.
“They were very impressive over the two days of the tournament, and we are incredibly proud of them,” Irvin said.
