Clancy’s victory gives Marple Newtown the edge

Emma Clancy dug deep to help Marple Newtown open the Central League girls tennis season with a hard-fought 4-3 triumph over Haverford.

Clancy needed a tiebreak to fend off Morgan Wojotowicz, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), at second singles to clinch the victory for the Tigers. Shadi Nouri and Ishpal Kaur came up with a big 6-2, 6-3 triumph at fourth doubles for Marple Newtown.

Jillian Bernstein and Kelsey Moran, Catherine Burhop and Jennifer Pennoni and Maddie Pelchet and Sonya Yoon took first, second and third doubles, respectively, for the Fords.

Elsewhere in the Central League:

Radnor 4, Garnet Valley 3: Norah Xiong and Camille Emaelsteen needed three sets to win at first doubles to clinch the victory for Radnor. Amber Song and Quinn Flannery, Grace Moore and Sasha Smolyansky and Cassidy Brown and Nanako won in straight sets to give Radnor (3-0) its third straight 4-3 victory.

Marina Zhang, Emma Blake and Stella Chen swept the singles in straight sets for Garnet Valley.

Strath Haven 7, Springfield 0: Maya kapur and Julia Katcher needed two hours on a hot day to pull out a 7-5, 6-1 victory at fourth singles. The first game of the second set had 11 deuces. Senior Kelly Doyle won a tough 6-4, 6-3 win over Springfield’s Alyssa DiCandilo at first singles.

Ridley 5, Upper Darby 2: Nnenna Aze Amade and Ela Sirin set the tone for the Green Raiders. Amade, a junior, was a 6-0, 6-4 winner at first singles. Sirin, a senior, claimed a 6-2, 6-0 triumph at second singles for Ridley (1-1, 1-0).

Bryanna Luistro and Victoria Taing won 6-4, 5-7, 10-5 at third doubles to lead Upper Darby.

Harriton 7, Penncrest 0: The Rams won five of the seven matches without losing a game including all three singles matches. Rachel Bemstock led the way from the first singles slot.