The St. Joseph Notre Dame women’s tennis team lost to Head-Royce of Oakland 4-3 last Wednesday, Oct. 5, but the Pilots’ top three players continued their dominant play at the exhibition. 

Sophomore Azaria Hayes and seniors Aysha Hayes and Nicole Bermudez scored victories in straight sets in the team matchup. Azaria took down her opponent 6-1, 6-1; Aysha beat her opponent 6-3, 6-0; and Bermudez beat her challenger 6-0, 6-1. 

The strong play is nothing new for the three ladies. Each player sports a perfect 8-0 mark on the season. Azaria has been the most dominant of the three. Not only has she not dropped a set, five of her eight victories have come in shutouts (6-0, 6-0). 

Her matchup on Wednesday was the only time an opponent won three games in a set against her. Aysha has three shutout victories and has also only allowed three games in a set once. Bermudez has two shutout wins and several other lopsided victories.

At the match against Head Royce, SJND senior Lee Akima was defeated 6-1, 6-0. She is 1-2 on the season. The doubles team of senior Avery Hahlweg and sophomore Hannah Waddell lost 6-3, 6-2 to move to 1-1 on the year. The team of Emma Courville and Rebecca Bartley were swept 6-0, 6-0 to move to 1-2 on the year, while junior Megan Council and senior Aiyanna Dueberry lost 6-1, 6-1 to move to 1-1 on the season.

SJND’s top three players are continuing their strong play from last year. Last year, Azaria won the North Coast Section (NCS) Div. II singles championship, while Aysha and Bermudez won the NCS Div. II doubles championship.

The Pilots are 5-3 overall and in league play where they compete in the Bay County League. SJND’s next match up is today against College Prep of Oakland.