Mills Godwin accepts its eighth consecutive Central Region trophy.

Maybe coach Mark Seidenberg should petition the city of Richmond for a new holiday: Mills Godwin Girls Tennis Day.

It�??s got a nice ring to it. Eight in a row, to be exact.

Thursday
afternoon, the Eagles claimed their eighth straight Central Region team
tennis crown dispatching of the previously undefeated and top-ranked
Deep Run Wildcats 5-1 at Raintree Swim and Racquet Club.

Mills
Godwin (16-1), ranked second in the DigitalSports Top 10, avenged a
previous loss to the Wildcats (15-1), who took home the Colonial
District title.

�??Looking
back, having lost to Deep Run may have been the best thing for our
season,�?� Seidenberg said. �??I thought we could get better and we really
have. Especially in doubles. We know any good high-school match is
going to come down to doubles.�?�

Thursday�??s didn�??t. You can thank Godwin junior Annie Larsen for that. She took a little more than three hours to defeat Deep Run senior Kendall Meyer 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 at No. 3 singles to clinch the match.

Larsen
battled cramps in her calves and quad for most of the third set,
overcoming a 4-2 deficit in the third set and one match point.

�??I
told her before she came out in the third set,�?� Seidenberg said, �??that
she had the best demeanor out of everyone on our team. She does not let
things get her down. She does not do anything negative on the court.�?�

Another factor that may have clinched the match was the left ankle injury to Deep Run�??s Kristin Nimitz early in the third set of her captivating match versus good friend and excellent nemesis Katie Blow.

The Wildcats were already trailing 3-1 at the point that Nimitz went down.

�??I
was going for a backhand and I rolled it,�?� the James Madison-bound
Nimitz said. �??It took my breath away for about three minutes. I don�??t
think it�??s that bad. I should be able to play Monday [in the Central
Region singles tournament].�?�

Nimitz�??s retire made the score 4-1 and set the stage for Larsen.

�??It
was so upsetting,�?� Blow said of the Nimitz injury. �??I hope she gets
better by next week and will be at full strength. Kristin and I always
have close matches. The second set just went my way.�?�

And it seemed like everything else went Godwin�??s way.

Meg Kristofak was the first to get on the board, beating Heather Paxton in No. 5 singles 6-4, 6-1. Deep Run�??s Allie Shulman wasn�??t too far behind, getting rid of Melissa Barkan 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2.

But Godwin No. 4 Nicole Parker (6-4, 6-4 over Logan Meyer) and No. 6 Cathleen Crouch (6-1, 6-4 over Randi Lawrence) helped end the threat much earlier than the previous match that went past 10 p.m.