Central's Barb wins Region B title

Daily Staff Report - sports@nvdaily.com

Central's Molly Barb advanced to the Group A state individual singles tournament on Tuesday, by winning the Region B tournament held at Wilson Memorial High School.
Barb defeated East Rockingham's Stacie Bailey, 6-3, 6-2 in the Region B final.

"She played so well," Central girls tennis coach Mallory Skarupa said. "[In the final] she was just in the zone. She was feeling it. She played very well."

Barb beat Goochland's Mackenzie Nunnally, 6-1, 6-3, in the semifinals. The final was moved indoors to the Augusta Medical Center, which Skarupa said helped Barb.
Barb is the first state individual girls singles qualifier for Central since 1999, when Emily French advanced to the state final.

The Falcons will host Wilson Memorial on Friday at 2 p.m. in the Region B semifinals. Barb and teammate Katelyn Foltz will play in the Region B doubles semifinals on May 29 at Wilson Memorial. They will play Goochland's Nunnally and Brett Alvis in the semis.
Barb will play in the Group A state semifinals on June 7 at Radford University. In the semis she will play the Region C champion.

"All the credit in the world goes to her," Skarupa said. "No one deserves it more than she does. I couldn't ask for a better person or player to coach."