BUFORD -- The key to the unparalleled success for the Buford girls tennis team this season is easily traceable: Apple pie.
Specifically, apple pie from Cracker Barrell. And don’t forget the a la mode.
It started innocently enough when junior Mariajose Ferreyros decided she needed a pick-me-up before one of her matches and had a craving for the All-American dessert. Little did she know it would turn into a pre-match ritual. Not just for her, but for the rest of the Lady Wolves.
“I get sleepy sometimes before matches. I have a hard time with energy early on so I just needed a big sugar-rush and that’s what I wanted,” Ferreyros said.
Now, whether she wants it or not, her teammates make sure she has spoon in hand before every match. And why not. Ferreyros has ridden the ritual, superstition, preparation, whatever you want to call it, to a stunning 14-1 singles record and has been one of the main catalysts in the Lady Wolves advancing to their first-ever state title match appearance.
Buford will take on perennial powerhouse Woodward Academy on Saturday in the Class AAAA championship match at the Clayton County International Park Tennis Center in Jonesboro.
“She played one of her best matches of the season after that so now we make her eat it,” teammates Katie Quinn and Peyton Wolfe said with a sly smile. “It’s been working so why not.”
Something else that has been working for the Lady Wolves has been the sheer balance of their lineup in 2015. Quinn and Wolfe are undefeated on the season at No. 2 doubles (21-0) and No. 1 singles Annalea Stevens is 19-3. No. 2 singles Bailey McCammon (18-3) has been strong all season and the No. 1 doubles team of Abbey Mitchell and Savannah Whaley (15-7) has been solid against some of the best doubles teams in the state in any classification.
“Mariajose is having a tremendous year and so is No. 2 doubles but really every match it seems that anyone of them can have the key match to clinch it,” longtime Buford coach Roger West said. “Without a doubt it is the strongest team we’ve ever had.”
Whether intentional or not, West provided some early motivation for his group before the season began announcing this would be his last season at the helm of the program after 12 seasons. He knew they had a chance to do something special but admitted he didn’t exactly envision the end scenario in the manner his team has offered up to him.
The Lady Wolves’ previous-best playoff runs in 38 seasons were three times in the quarterfinals, the last being in 2013 in Class AAA.
“Honestly, knowing that you will have to play the powerhouse private schools in the playoffs it’s hard to project past the second round,” West said. “But this group learned how to handle the pressure this year and that was a big hurdle. To do this in my last year has made it a little more special.”
Regardless of the outcome Saturday, it has already been a record-setting season for Buford. The Lady Wolves knocked off private-school stalwarts St. Pius and Marist in the second and third rounds, respectively, for the first-time ever.
Marist was the two-time defending Class AAAA state champion and had won five of the last six AAAA titles. St. Pius won the 2012 Class AAA state title and Woodward Academy won the 2010 and ‘11 Class AAA titles.
“It will be a big challenge for us,” West said. “But after beating St. Pius and then Marist I think the girls realize they have a great chance to win this thing.”
They whipped St. Pius handily in the second round (3-0) setting up a quarterfinal showdown once again with Marist. The 3-2 triumph over the Lady War Eagles may well be the ultimate turning point for the program.
“It was so exciting the way it happened,” West said. “Peyton and Katie were down two match points and it looked like it was over and that it would be my last time with the girls and I started thinking about all the good times I had. But Peyton and Katie had other ideas I guess.”
With the match tied at 2-2, it came down to Quinn and Wolfe who lost the first set and trailed in the second set and faced two match points. A quick strategy session to regroup turned the tide.
“There was so much pressure but we just kind of took a moment to gather ourselves,” Wolfe said. “We just got a little more aggressive on the court.”
They would save both match points and managed to pull within 5-4 and then broke serve to propel them to take the set 7-5. However, they quickly found themselves down 4-1 in the third and then 5-3.
“I thought it was over then,” Ferreyros said. “It’s hard to come back that many times."
Quinn and Wolfe stormed back, however, to win the final four games and the match and send the Lady Wolves into their first-ever Final Four.
"It was so exciting," Ferreyros said. "Everyone was cheering and every point was nerve.wracking. I couldn't believe it when they won it."
They used that as fuel to whip Eagle’s Landing 3-0 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match against Woodward Academy.
Incidentally, they have never never beaten the Lady Wildcats in program history.
“I think the girls learned how to win with the pressure on against Marist,” West said. “It could be a big turning point for all of them after this. That is important when you get to this stage. That was probably the only thing missing for us the last few years.”
Wolfe said confidence is sky high as they head to Jonesboro. But she admitted there will probably be some early-match jitters.
“This is still kind of new to us but now we know what we need to do to win the big matches,” Wolfe said. “That should help us.”
Quinn said she expects the Lady Wolves to be loose and ready to shock the tennis world one more time.
“We don’t have anything to lose,” Quinn said. “No one expected us to beat St. Pius or Marist but we did. I’m sure (Woodward) thinks they will roll over us. But we feel right now we can beat anyone. I think we’re all ready to go.”
It might not hurt to find the nearest Cracker Barrell along the way.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/5/308912/girls-tennis-sugar-rush-fueling-lady-wolves-run-to-aaaa-finals