Newton Citizen

SHARPSBURG -- The Newton girls found themselves in unfamiliar territory as they trailed in four of the five matches against East Coweta and Newton ended up losing 3-2 on Tuesday.

Newton trailed in four of the five matches, the exception being Kelsey Swinson, who held a 2-1 advantage. Both doubles teams went down an early break, and Marie Diaz trailed 2-1.

The Newton doubles teams, which have been a strength for the Rams netters this year, never recovered, as neither doubles team broke back to even the match. East Coweta took a 1-0 lead after Paige Deweese and Manny Rincon edged Newton's Shundra Kelton and Allie Brazelton 8-6.

Until this match, the Newton girls top doubles team had won 21 of its last 25 matches. East Coweta took the second singles match to go up 2-0 as Allie Shell defeated Trinity Kinnon 8-1. Kelsey Swinson rallied to win 8-5 at number one singles. Marie Diaz tied the match at 2-2 with an 8-5 come-from-behind victory over Raelee Heinz. Diaz trailed 5-2 before rallying to win six consecutive games.

The deciding match occurred at number two doubles. The newly formed partnership of Tenia Morgan and Presley Trevino fell behind 5-7 but took the next game to move within a game of tying the match. Their comeback effort fell short, as they fell to East Coweta's number two doubles team.

"This one was a really tough match to lose. We depend a great deal on our doubles teams to give us wins, and we fell short in an area in which we have great confidence," said Newton coach Michael Bryan. "I was proud of the way the girls competed, and I hope we can reverse the outcome if we see East Coweta again at region."