FISHERSVILLE — Wilson Memorial’s Sydney Troxell found herself in a tiebreaker during the Region 3C girls tennis first round match with Brookville’s Faith Gardner Monday morning, May 25.
Playing No. 4 singles, Troxell won the first set and dropped the second to force a tiebreaker, meaning first to 10 with a two-point lead wins. The Wilson senior never trailed in the final set, but Gardner pushed her throughout.
“I was a little stressed,” Troxell said. “But I felt confident. I knew I had to stay calm in the tiebreaker because it’s really all about nerves. I knew if I could just hold serve and keep doing my thing I could get it.”
Troxell said she was tired after her singles match. During the regular season players play just one set to eight, but in postseason it becomes best of three sets.
“I was just thinking, ‘I don’t want to play doubles after this,'” she said. “I’m exhausted.”
With the win, Wilson captured the match 5-1, which was played indoors at Augusta Health because of the rain. Wilson advances to the quarterfinals scheduled for May 28 at No. 4 Rocktown.
In addition to Sydney Troxell, her sister, Alison Troxell, won at No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-0; No. 1 Brynlee Roach won 6-0, 6-1; No. 5 Amber Brunk won 6-3, 6-1; and No. 6 Elyanah Marshall won 6-1, 6-2. Roach and Alison Troxell had already won a set 6-0 in first doubles, but didn’t have to complete it after Sydney Troxell wrapped up the match for the Hornets.
“When you get to postseason you always know it’s going to be tough,” Wilson coach Scott Steele said. “But I was happy the way that we played in singles. I was confident that if we had to go to doubles we’d be good there.”
Doubles trouble
The road hasn’t been without bumps this year for Wilson Memorial (11-6) girls tennis, but three of its six losses have come by the narrowest of margins, 5-4. It’s a young team, with only four seniors on the roster and just two seniors — the Troxell twins — currently in the starting lineup for singles and doubles.
Roach and Alison Troxell have been crucial to the success of a young team, helping them get into the regional quarterfinals. Neither one has lost in singles or doubles this season and, for the past two years, are unbeaten in Shenandoah District play.
The two will play regional singles and doubles May 26-27, either at Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville or Western Albemarle High School in Crozet depending on weather.
“They have carried the team all season,” Steele said. “We have a very young team. Even Sydney at No. 4 has only been playing a couple of years. There’s not a lot of experience.”
Alison Troxell has been playing since she was 5, but for Roach, it’s a different story. The junior didn’t start playing until her freshman year. She tried volleyball. She tried golf. Neither stuck. What she did discover is that she was good at badminton, winning the championship in middle school physical education class.
“Then my mom was like, I think you should try tennis and I did,” Roach said.
It’s worked out well, to say the least. She has been taking lessons since then with a pro at Keswick and has become the top tennis player in the Shenandoah District.
Both players are students of the game. Troxell said it’s not as simple as going out on the court and playing. There is strategy involved.
“It’s a very complex sport,” Troxell said. “It’s not just hit it back to them. You have to know where to hit it, when to hit it, how hard to hit it.”
The two had played together before last season at Augusta Health, so they asked — “We begged,” said Troxell — to play doubles together at the start of the 2025 high school season.
“I’m always so scared for singles,” Troxell said. “But I know in doubles, it’s one of our favorites because we’re on with each other. That’s the good part. We know we have each other.”
While Roach returns next season, she’ll have to find a different doubles partner with Troxell heading off to college. Neither likes to think much about that just yet with matches still to play.
“The first time I ever saw her cry was at my senior night,” Troxell said.
Steele has loved watching the two play.
“They work really well together,” the coach said. “They are a little different personality wise, which is fine. You kind of need that. I kid them because, like myself, they’re vertically challenged so we work on a few things. Maybe small in stature but they have big games.”
Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Wilson Memorial tennis wins behind Brynlee Roach and Troxell twins
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