GIRLS TENNIS
The Lawrence High School girls tennis team edged Robbinsville on Thursday.
The Cardinals won 3-2 with Ashley Russo taking first singles and Lawrence doubles teams winning their matches.
Russo won, 6-0, 6-3, while Soto and Vitukhnarskaya lost hard-fought matches at second and third singles, respectively.
Barrett and Szyszko won first doubles, 7-5, 6-1, and Janusz and Chan won second doubles, 6-4, 6-3.
Russo led Lawrence at the Mercer County Tournament.
Russo reached the backdraw semifinals in new tournament format, which created more matches for players who would have otherwise been eliminated from the tournament.
After losing last Monday in the first round to the eventual first singles champion, Princeton Day School’s Samantha Lieb, Russo scored points for the Cardinals by defeating Hamilton’s Chinwe Oriji in the backdraw, 9-8.
Russo finally fell to West Windsor-Plainsboro North’s Caroline Chang in the backdraw semifinal, 8-1.
Lawrence’s Jen Barrett and Eva Szyszko also reached the backdraw semifinals at first doubles. Barrett and Szyszko lost to the eventual backdraw final winners, 8-1, but won against a doubles team for Steinert in the first backdraw round on Monday, 8-6.

