After a controversial coin toss decided a three-way tie in last year’s varsity girls tennis district tournament, the format for qualifying for Regionals has taken on a new meaning.

In spring 2010, three teams in the Liberty District tied for first place: Langley, Thomas Jefferson and McLean, with each team ending the season with only one loss.

“With only two spots available in Regionals, we had to do a tiebreaker to determine who would take the second spot. The first spot should never have to come down to a coin flip,” said second-seed Langley tennis player, junior Kitty Branche.       

This year, a vote was taken among all the schools in the Liberty district to determine whether the leading two or the leading three district teams should advance on to the regional meet.     hggghAlthough Langley voted against the change, the majority of schools in the district voted for the top three teams to move on to Regionals, resulting in the new changes.

“Although it is nice to bring more teams into Regionals, expanding the draw just creates that much more pressure on the students during the stress of exams in May,” said Coach Sara Vincent.

Despite the new changes, the Saxons currently hold the number one spot in the district, remaining undefeated after beating McLean 6-3 and TJ 7-2.

As the team begins the second half of the season, first-seed player junior Kathryn Emery remains optimistic. “We have such a strong team this year, so I really hope we make it to states again and come out with a win,” said Emery.