Tennis teams play for conference seeding
Published 10:28 am Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Area tennis teams enter the final week of the regular season jockeying for position as most conference tournaments will begin in the next couple of weeks.
In the Northeastern Coastal Conference, Bertie picked up a key win last Tuesday as they blanked Pasquotank in Elizabeth City, 9-0. Lindsey Dickens (10-3), Amari White (10-6), Alyssa Byrum (10-0), Kaleigh Freeman (10-0), and Stephanie Castelloe (10-0) all posted a straight set win; while Emily Dawson kept the shutout complete with a 10-6 tiebreaker win over Renada White (10-10).
In the doubles, Dickens and Byrum combined to top Sam Brandt and Kim Meads 8-1, while White and Dawson beat Renada White and Michelle McField 8-2. Amy White and Christian Teel completed the sweep, downing Amber McLawhorn and Ken Moore, 8-3.
Bertie High’s Lindsey Dickens makes a backhand return in her singles match last week against Pasquotank. Dickens and the Lady Falcon netters blanked the Lady Panthers and rival Hertford County, both 9-0, but they fell to NCC leader First Flight, 8-1. Photo by Angie Todd
Things did not go as well Wednesday back in Windsor when undefeated and powerful First Flight took their tenth consecutive conference win, 8-1, over the Lady Falcons. Emily Dawson won 7-4 in a tiebreaker (8-8); while the Lady Nighthawks swept the doubles to close out their 11th win of the season.
Bertie’s now 6-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play, good enough for fourth place behind First Flight, Northeastern, and Currituck.
Elsewhere, Northeast Academy took a pair of road wins: 8-1 over Greenfield School at Barton College in Wilson on Monday, and 7-2 over The Oakwood School in Greenville the following day.
Carly Stephenson, Jessie Martin, and Hannah Drewette all claimed straight set wins, while Carson Johnson and Emalee Jones needed three sets to post their wins. Lizzy Smith fell to Libbey Eagles in straight sets for the Lady Eagles lone setback. Smith later combined with Martin to provide a doubles sweep over Jae Pridgen and Louisa Lee.
Tuesday, Northeast captured four singles wins over The Oakwood School, and then grabbed a 3-0 sweep in doubles as Stephenson/Jones, Martin/Smith, and Drewette/Johnson all took straight set wins.
Ridgecroft School was tripped up by Wayne Country Day on Sept. 28, but rebounded to claim back-to-back wins over Faith Christian and Kerr-Vance Academies.
Mary Outland, Claire Revelle, and Rachel Bennett were singles winners for the Lady Rams, but the Lady Chargers swept the doubles to complete a 6-3 win in Goldsboro at Wayne Country Day.
Monday the Rams bounced back as Taylor Jenkins, Mary Grace Gilliam, Revelle, and Bennett were singles winners to the lead the way against Faith Christian at the Rose Courts in Murfreesboro. Jenkins/Gilliam, Revelle/Bennett, and Claire Place/Mary Outland all combined for a doubles sweep and Ridgecroft won their eighth of the year, 7-2 over the Lady Patriots.
Things were a bit closer on Wednesday, also at home, but the Rams pulled off a 5-4 victory over Kerr-Vance. Jenkins, Gilliam, and Bennett were singles winners; they then combined to claim a doubles win, as did Revelle and Bennett. The Rams split with the Lady Spartans 3-3 in singles, but the two Ridgecroft doubles victories sealed the win.
Ridgecroft has remaining matches with Lawrence Academy (away) and Northeast (home) before their state playoffs begin on Oct. 20. Bertie closed out their regular season by sweeping rival Hertford County 9-0 last Thursday.
