Warren Central tennis rips rival Vicksburg

Published 12:33 am Saturday, March 28, 2015

Warren Central’s George Wilkerson prepares to serve during a boys singles match Friday against Vicksburg High. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

Warren Central’s George Wilkerson prepares to serve during a boys singles match Friday against Vicksburg High. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)

It only took about 90 minutes for Warren Central to establish its dominance in at least one facet of its perpetual rivalry with Vicksburg High.

The Vikings didn’t drop a set in any of the six matches they won ­­— and only lost 16 games in them ­— as they routed Vicksburg 6-1 Friday afternoon at Halls Ferry Park.

Warren Central improved its record to 2-2 heading into a pair of division matches next week against Murrah and Greenville.

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“I thought we looked real good,” Warren Central coach Jeff Pilgrim said. “We started the season wanting to have a lot of non-district matches, and we’ve had so many cancellations that it’s been worrisome with district coming up. But I think we know what we’ve got and have figured out the strengths of our team.”

One of those strengths on Friday was boys singles, where George Wilkerson shut out Vicksburg’s Chris Albert 6-0, 6-0.

“My serves were a lot better today, and so were my returns. (Pilgrim) has been getting me to do some drills in practice and that’s helped,” Wilkerson said.

The boys doubles team of Nick Wright and Blake Wilson beat DeAirmus Smith and Jonathon Boyd 7-5, 6-0 in one of the few mildly competitive matches of the day.

Warren Central’s No. 1 girls doubles team of Amanda Boleware and Michaela Mobley defeated Destine Jones and Olivia White 6-2, 6-2.

The No. 2 girls doubles team of Skylar Gibson and Lauren Davis also cruised, beating Kirsten Silverthorne and Amy Dixon 6-2, 6-3.

In mixed doubles, the Vikings claimed another point as Matthew Register and Avery Lynn Liddell beat Vicksburg’s Rashad Fisher and Fay Valerie 6-1, 6-1.

Vicksburg’s only point came in girls singles, where Caroline Williams routed Madison Kendall 6-1, 6-1.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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