By Ricky Dimon

The two-time defending AAAAAA state champion Walton girls are off to a strong start in 2015 after winning their second consecutive Region 5 match last Wednesday. Walton hosted Milton and swept all five matches. The Raiders got victories from Suzanne Zenoni, Johanna Keeline and Anna Leigh Nielsen in singles in addition to successful doubles performances by Jessica Cramer and Sophia Guldberg and by Kristen O’Brien and Sheena Mookerji. Walton’s previous defeat of Cherokee came with a slightly different lineup, as that effort was joined by Bella Kuse in singles and by Emily Gaskins and Grace Gaskins in doubles.

Both the boys and girls at Peachtree Ridge came out on top at Greater Atlanta Christian’s expense last week. The boys really made their mark in doubles, where Niki Makarenko and Taylor Galloway prevailed at No. 1 while Colin Greeff and Nicholas Allison got the job done at No. 2. Taylor Foote earned a victory in the top singles position to give Peachtree Ridge a necessary third point. On the girls’ side, the Lions beat Greater Atlanta Christian 4-1. Deepa Dhore and Sreeja Choppara won in singles for Peachtree Ridge.

Familiar foes Brookwood and Grayson also squared off last Wednesday and neither the boys nor the girls for Brookwood showed any mercy. The Lady Broncos triumphed 5-0 on the strength of a singles lineup featuring Clarissa Jolley, Esther de Miguel and Laticia Coelho. For the boys, Zach Jennings, Stephan George and Ben Chong took care of Grayson. The Broncos also got doubles wins from Alzaeem Ukani and Nick Porcelli and from Austin Ryan and Jacob Mallow. Brookwood is 4-0 for the season and 2-0 in its region.

Kell’s girls improved to 4-1 this year after pocketing its first victory in Region 7-AAAAA action last week. The Longhorns dominated North Atlanta 5-0 while losing a total of two games in the two doubles matches. Kysia Katsoudas and Claudia Casanova rolled 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 and Meela Patel and Shelby Nyberg scored a 6-2, 6-0 win in the second spot. Singles wins came off the rackets of Samantha, Katie Tarbell and Jada Robinson.

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