By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
Salisbury’s Joy Loeblein smacked a forehand winner, then stuffed both hands in her pockets. She hopped up and down until the next point started.
Warming up an activity bus is the next priority.
The Hornets advanced to the semifinals of the 2A dual-team tennis tournament with a 9-0 victory against Rocky River champion Forest Hills on a cold and windy Tuesday afternoon.
Salisbury (21-1) is scheduled to make a three-hour trip through the mountains Thursday to face Brevard (14-2) in the Western final, and the winner will meet either Cardinal Gibbons (18-4) or Edenton Holmes (19-3) for the state title Saturday in Burlington.
Loeblein, Erika Nelson and Hannah Lebowitz gave Salisbury an early lead in its home finale. Senior Kirstin Meyerhoeffer picked up the next win, and classmate Shea Comadoll provided the clinching victory. Brooke Johnson, another senior, capped the singles sweep moments later.
“It was a great way to go out and certainly a great way for the seniors to go out,” Salisbury coach Chris Myers said. “It was perfect seeing Brooke and Shea kind of finish up together.”
Salisbury dropped a total of 14 games in the six singles matches, and it won 8-1 at all three doubles spots.
Nelson (6-0, 6-0 against sixth-seeded Shannon Morris), Loeblein (6-0, 6-2 against fifth-seeded Gyna Salazar), Lebowitz (6-0, 6-1 against previously unbeaten No. 1 seed Hannah Potter) and Meyerhoeffer (6-0, 6-2 against second-seeded Alanna Williams) played flawless first sets.
Comadoll won 6-2, 6-2 against fourth-seeded Brooke Corley, and Johnson prevailed 6-1, 6-4 against previously unbeaten Melissa Richards at No. 3.
Salisbury needed little more than an hour to eliminate the Yellow Jackets (12-2).
“I just wanted to get moving because it was so cold,” Comadoll said. “It was really windy today, and that made it hard. It’s not my favorite weather.”
No one moved on as quickly as Nelson, whose match lasted 35 minutes.
Nelson (25-2) leads the team in wins, and she came within one victory of qualifying for the state singles tournament. She lost 6-4, 6-0 to conference champion Tiffany Vanhpraseuth of Ledford in a Midwest Regional quarterfinal.
Salisbury’s five other starters competed in the Raleigh area ó the Hornets had two doubles teams and one singles entry ó and Nelson accompanied them on the trip. She sat in the bleachers at N.C. State’s indoor facility Saturday morning as four teammates met for the state doubles title.
“I think from a competitor’s standpoint it was a little difficult because she hated that she couldn’t get out and play, but she helped us immensely,” Myers said. “She was out there practicing with us on Thursday night, and we wanted her to experience the atmosphere.”
Forest Hills coach Bill Potter guessed that Nelson was Salisbury’s No. 3 seed as he watched her play at the regional.
Ledford coach Randy Grimes delivered the discouraging news that Nelson occupies a lower spot in the order.
“I really enjoy being on this team because we’re all so close,” Nelson said. “It’s been everything and more than I expected.”
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NOTES: Brevard, the Western Athletic champ, advanced with a 6-2 victory against North Lincoln. The Blue Devils’ conference has seeding priority over Salisbury’s. … Gibbons won 5-1 against Greene Central, which had reached the 2A final in nine of the last 10 years. Greene Central beat Salisbury for the title in 2005 and 2007. The Hornets defeated Gibbons in the 2006 final.