By Buddy "Friday Night" Cobb, Williamson County Bureau
MARION — Veteran Marion tennis coach Joe Pearce has developed real respect for Carterville's fledgling girls' program, and that respect kept growing after Thursday's dual match between the two schools, according to the Southern Illinoisan.
Marion came away with a hard-fought win, but the paper's account makes clear this wasn't the mismatch a program gap might suggest. Carterville's tennis program is still finding its footing, but Pearce's own comments point to a team building something real, match by match.
For two county rivals just down Route 13 from each other, results like this matter beyond the scoreline — they're part of how the county's smaller sports programs establish themselves season over season. Full match results and individual set scores weren't detailed in available reporting beyond the overall outcome.
Marion's volleyball squad also picked up a win this week over the Terriers, a sign the Wildcat athletic department is finding its rhythm across multiple fall sports as September rolls on.
filed from the sidelines, where Friday nights still mean something.
— Reporting by the Southern Illinoisan.
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