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Jimmy Bradford of Wiesbaden returns a serve as doubles teammate Matthew Hendrix looks on during a match against Stuttgart  in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Jimmy Bradford of Wiesbaden returns a serve as doubles teammate Matthew Hendrix looks on during a match against Stuttgart in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Jimmy Bradford of Wiesbaden returns a serve as doubles teammate Matthew Hendrix looks on during a match against Stuttgart  in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Jimmy Bradford of Wiesbaden returns a serve as doubles teammate Matthew Hendrix looks on during a match against Stuttgart in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Marina Fortun of Stuttgart, the team captain who finished second in Europe after teammate Marissa Encarnacion, serves during a match against Wiesbaden  in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Marina Fortun of Stuttgart, the team captain who finished second in Europe after teammate Marissa Encarnacion, serves during a match against Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Hannah Cahill of Stuttgart hits a forehand as teammate Marissa Encarnacion looks on during a match against Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Hannah Cahill of Stuttgart hits a forehand as teammate Marissa Encarnacion looks on during a match against Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

David Williams of Wiesbaden prepares to serve during a match against Stuttgart in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

David Williams of Wiesbaden prepares to serve during a match against Stuttgart in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Marissa Encarnacion of Stuttgart, the reigning girls' European champion, hits a low backhand during her singles match in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Marissa Encarnacion of Stuttgart, the reigning girls' European champion, hits a low backhand during her singles match in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Kendall Smith of Stuttgart hits a backhand during a match against Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Kendall Smith of Stuttgart hits a backhand during a match against Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Gabi Diaz of Wiesbaden hits a forehand against her opponent from Stuttgart  during a match between the two schools in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Gabi Diaz of Wiesbaden hits a forehand against her opponent from Stuttgart during a match between the two schools in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Cassandra Pritchett of Wiesbaden returns a serve from her opponent, Marissa Encarnacion of Stuttgart, during a match between the two high schools in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Cassandra Pritchett of Wiesbaden returns a serve from her opponent, Marissa Encarnacion of Stuttgart, during a match between the two high schools in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Sean Bushong, a junior at Stuttgart, prepares to serve against an opponent from Wiesbaden during a match between the two schools in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Sean Bushong, a junior at Stuttgart, prepares to serve against an opponent from Wiesbaden during a match between the two schools in Wiesbaden Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

Jalan Glover of Wiesbaden moves to hit a volley against opponent John Grady of Stuttgart during a match between the two high schools in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015.

Jalan Glover of Wiesbaden moves to hit a volley against opponent John Grady of Stuttgart during a match between the two high schools in Wiesbaden on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. (Dan Stoutamire/Stars and Stripes)

WIESBADEN, Germany - Stuttgart’s boys tennis team swept its counterpart from Wiesbaden during a generally-impressive display from the visitors Saturday.

Sean Bushong, John Grady and Even Stuber led the way for the Panthers, winning all of their matches easily, 6-4, 6-1; 8-1; and 8-0, respectively.

“I felt very confident,” Bushong said. “I got my serve in well, and I think I just played really well today.”

On his team’s dominance on the boys’ side, Bushong said cohesion and effort are the key.

“We just support each other,” he said, “and we practice really hard.”

On the girls side, last year’s European champion Marissa Encarnacion and runner-up Marina Fortun both appear to be in top form as the season moves along. Encarnacion made quick work of Wiesbaden’s Cassandra Pritchett, 6-0, 6-0, and Fortun did likewise to her opponent, Grace Wagner, 8-1, at the same place they finished 1-2 at last year’s European championships. Stuttgart took six of the nine matches Saturday.

“It was interesting to be back on the surface where Europeans was played on,” Encarnacion said. “It’s a very unique type of carpet, because it’s really grainy, so it’s sometimes a different game here than on a hard court like Stuttgart.”

Encarnacion has been working on her game in the offseason and that’s bad news for opponents.

“I think my serve has definitely improved, it’s definitely faster,” she said. “I also think that my backhand has improved as far as pace goes, I used to hit more of a slower backhand, but I think my strokes have pretty much evened out.”

For Wiesbaden, it was a second straight matchup against the elite of Division I, having faced the International School of Brussels the prior weekend.

However, despite some tough scorelines, coach Tom Rooney says he sees some promising signs from his players.

“I can see the difference (from last week) already,” he said. “We’re not playing in any way intimidated and this is certainly one of the strongest teams in Division I. I can already see that these first matches, we’re in a lot of them, and I think that has a lot to do with last week.”

Wiesbaden visits Hohenfels on Saturday, while ISB travels to Stuttgart in a matchup of the top two programs in Europe in recent years.

Stoutamire.dan@stripes.com

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