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EDWARDSVILLE - Callaghan Adams and Morgan Colbert set the stage as Edwardsville threw a 9-0 Southwestern Conference shutout on Belleville West at the EHS Tennis Complex Tuesday.
Adams and Colbert both won their singles matches without losing a game. Grace Dresse won her match in three sets and Natalie Karibian, MacKenzie Cadigan and Maria Mezo also won their singles matches.
In doubles, the teams of Adams/Colbert, Dresse/Karibian and Cadigan/Mezo swept their matches.
Adams has emerged as a team leader this season, said her Coach Dave Lipe said and will be “impossible” to replace next season.
“Callaghan is a very strong player and she leads these girls in a very positive direction,” he said. “She has been very selfless and is interested in the team as a whole. She took a recruiting trip this past weekend and planned her entire recruiting trip around matches played in Columbia, Mo.
"Callaghan showed a lot of desire to be with the team and could have missed part of the day or all of the day on Friday.”
Adams is being recruited by several colleges, Lipe said, but still keeps her focus on day-to-day play as a leader of the high school team.
Lipe said Colbert was also dominant against Belleville West.
The Edwardsville coach said he thought the win over Belleville West was important because in the past they had been such a powerhouse team in this part of the state.
Dresse had a tough first set, but showed “a lot of resilience and mental toughness and won a tiebreaker against a very competitive player.”
“We should feel very good about beating Belleville West,” Lipe said. “The kids built some momentum heading into another tough one on Thursday. There was a very sharp varsity and JV vibe out there. I saw lot of our kids having a good time and the JV kids played very well also. From No. 1 to No. 22 it was a very strong performance. It was a very happy night and I am proud of the way my kids played.”
Edwardsville is now 11-3. The win over Belleville West and the other over Rockbridge in Missouri was “huge,” last Friday, Lipe said.
“I explained to the kids afterward what they had done; Rockbridge won the Missouri state championship last year, then we beat Jefferson City in the afternoon. We are looking forward to Belleville East coming up.”
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