Moomau captures district crown

By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- tkeeler@nvdaily.com

NOKESVILLE -- Kari Pope wore her frustration on her face.

No matter what the James Wood senior tried in her match against Handley's Sarah Moomau, nothing worked.

Moomau kept ball after ball in play and waited for errors from Pope in a 6-0, 6-2 win in the Northwestern District individual singles final on Friday.

"I definitely fed off her negative energy," Moomau said. "It helped me. I knew I couldn't let down, though. I knew she could come back at any time."

Pope couldn't be blamed for her emotions as Moomau made only 15 unforced errors in the match, five of which came in the first two games as Moomau worked out her nerves.

Moomau finished off the first set in just 23 minutes.

"She just gets everything back," Pope said. "I'm hitting my best shots and she just keeps getting them back. It's hard. She's a great player."

The two players held serve in the first three games of the second set as Moomau built a 2-1 lead. In the fourth game, Moomau hit back-to-back winners to take control of the game and build a 3-1 lead.

Moomau (18-0) broke Pope's serve again in the sixth game, but Pope battled back to within 5-2.

"I was a little surprised how easy it was in the first set," Moomau said. "I knew the second set wouldn't be that easy. Once I won the first set it takes a little pressure off, because I know if I lose the second set I still have another one. I just tried to keep the ball in play."

Moomau finished off the 52-minute match on an error from Pope (14-4) to claim her first individual singles title.

"I'm really happy," Moomau said. "This was a big goal of mine. It feels good."

Moomau and Pope both move on to the Region II individual singles tournament May 26-27 at Millbrook.

Pope lost in last year's district singles final to Handley's Elizabeth Gardiner, before falling in the regional quarterfinals. Pope and Moomau could meet again in the regional final, and James Wood coach Rob Haskiell said there's plenty to work on in the meantime.

"Sarah just has no weaknesses, or at least none that we've discovered yet," Haskiell said. "We'll talk about things and see if we can find any weaknesses that we can take advantage of. Kari hit some great shots, but Sarah just doesn't make any mistakes."

Handley coach Terry Ewell said she was very pleased with Moomau, especially since it was her first time in the individual competition.

"I think today was the best match I've seen her play all year," Ewell said. "She plays year-round in tournaments. She plays a lot of competitive tennis and I'm sure that helps her. She doesn't let anything bother her. You're not going to rattle her."

Moomau will be one of the top seeds in the Region II singles tournament, and is confident about her chances of becoming the third-straight Handley player to advance to the state tournament in singles.

"It will be a new experience for me," Moomau said. "I'm really excited it for it. I think it will be a lot of fun."