Marion County tennis squads continue play amidst unfavorable weather

RACHEL — It might still be chilly outside, but tennis season continues to roll on for all three Marion County schools.

On Wednesday afternoon, rivals North Marion and Fairmont Senior faced off against one another at North Marion High, while East Fairmont and Bridgeport picked up where they left off after Tuesday’s cancellation due to unfavorable weather.

At North Marion, the Polar Bears boys’ duo of David Heston and Parker Ellison competed and came away with a 7-0 victory over the Huskies. Heston recently came off a tough loss in singles’ action to Buckhannon-Upshur’s Tommy Swift in a battle between No. 1 seeds. Ellison won his singles’ match against the Buccaneers’ Brayden Osburn 8-5.

Against the Huskies, the duo looked sharp as ever, nailing their serves and forcing North Marion to hit back against tough balls, many of which were the product of Ellison’s strength and athleticism.

For the girls, though, North Marion was able to come away with a 7-0 victory, as the Polar Bears struggled to handle the Huskies’ firepower.

On the court at Deegan and Hinkle Lakes Park, the East Fairmont Bees boys’ tennis squad handled Bridgeport, defeating the Indians with a 6-1 victory. The Bees recently finished with yet another win on the season over Robert C. Byrd, where multiple players won their respective singles’ matches.

Senior Hunter Bragg won 8-0, while his doubles partner Haydyn Dudash, defeated his opponent 8-2. Junior Kollin Maxey won 8-1, and Isaiah Ferrell won 8-0 to give the Bees the edge.

As it currently stands, Bragg and Dudash each are an undefeated 9-0 on the season in singles matches, and 9-0 in doubles matches. Ferrell and Maxey are 7-1 in doubles matches, proving that East Fairmont can deliver the knockout punch against opponents using many different weapons.

Bragg and Dudash, both seniors, will be looking to replicate last year’s success in the Big X tournament and eventually at the state level. The duo won the 2024 doubles championships for the conference.

Despite the unpredictable weather conditions that have occurred throughout the past few weeks, all three schools will continue to play according to their respective schedules. East Fairmont will return to action today against Keyser at East Marion Park at 4 p.m.

Fairmont Senior will take on the Bees this Friday at East Marion Park at 5 p.m. North Marion tennis will resume action today on the road against Robert C. Byrd.

All three teams will meet once again in the Big X Conference tournament at the end of the season.