WINDSOR – Sweet sayonara.

Bertie High School’s varsity girl’s tennis team has five seniors who are part of the starting seven.

Thursday afternoon those five said farewell in excellent fashion as they topped rival Hertford County High School 8-1.

&uot;We started from scratch four years ago,&uot; coach Jackie Copeland said. &uot;For this to be their last regular-season match and go out a good note, with all of them playing well, was excellent. I’m proud of them.&uot;

Two of those seniors – Jessica Jones and Brittany Hoggard – ended as well as possible.

Jones, the fourth seed for the Lady Falcons, defeated Kaylee Barket by identical counts of 6-0 while Hoggard, the number five, did the same in her battle with Chelsea Malone.

The highest-seeded senior, Megan Cowan, took a straight set victory over Cecilia Jones. The number two seed at Bertie won 6-3 and 6-2.

Sixth seed Courtney Dunlow, just a sophomore, won the battle of six seeds by defeating HCHS’s Brittany Pierce 6-1 and 6-0.

Hertford County got a win in the battle of the three seeds when Brooke Stroud took a straight set win over Caroline Hoggard by identical counts of 6-2.

The best singles match of the afternoon was the battle of top seeds where Bertie’s Holly Cowand and Lady Bear Sarah Brown went three sets.

Brown took the first set by a count of 6-4 before Cowand rallied to win set two by the same mark.

Cowan then won the third set 7-3.

&uot;That was a huge win for Holly,&uot; Copeland said. &uot;Sarah Brown is a good tennis player and has won most of her matches this season. This was the firs time Holly had played her at number one and it was a big victory.&uot;

In doubles’ action, Bertie swept the matches with Cowan and Cowand edging Brown and Jones by a 10-7 count while Jones and Carla Cooper defeated Stroud and Malone 10-5.

In the battle of third seeded doubles’ teams, Brittany Hoggard and Dunlow defeated Barket and Pierce 10-0.

&uot;I felt good about the way we played,&uot; Copeland said. &uot;I think learning they were the division champions motivated them to play harder against Hertford County.

&uot;Hopefully, this means we are getting ready for the state and regional playoffs on the right note,&uot; she added.

The win boosted the 3-A division champion Bertie tennis record to 6-6 on the year.

&uot;Finishing with our first .500 record is a big step for the program,&uot; Copeland noted. &uot;We started from a place four years ago where these girls had never picked up a racket and now they’ve earned a special place in Bertie High School history.&uot;

Bertie, who finished fourth overall, will participate in the Northeastern Coastal Conference tournament October 11 and then will host their first state playoff match October 17.