ROCKINGHAM — Suffering its third straight loss Wednesday, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ tennis team was shut out.
In their second of three Sandhills Athletic Conference matches in as many days, the Lady Raiders lost 9-0 to Union Pines High School.
Wednesday’s defeat marked the first time in seven matches this season that Richmond failed to win a singles or doubles contest.
“This was a match that we could have won,” head coach Jessica Covington said. “The score didn’t show that, but talent wise, I thought we were the better team. We just didn’t execute our shots the way we needed to and got behind early.
“We’ve had a tough string of matches lately but the girls continue to battle,” she added. “We get another chance tomorrow and I hope we can recognize our seniors with a win.”
Richmond’s closest chance at a win came from senior Hanna Smith in the No. 1 singles match. She fell 9-7 in extra sets to Lucy McPherson.
Other scores included an 8-3 loss by No. 4 sophomore Colbie Covington to Madelyn Ragsdale and an 8-2 loss for No. 2 junior Jentry Denson to Bella Edwards.
No. 5 and No. 6 seniors Kenleigh Parker and Ava Thompson each lost 8-1 to Kinsley Creel and Ceilidh Clendenin, respectively. No. 3 senior Madison Grimes was shutout 8-0 by Lyan Yoxtheimer.
Doubles play didn’t fare much better for the Lady Raiders. The No. 2 duo of Denson and Grimes, however, nearly defeated Yoxtheimer and Ragsdale, but fell 8-6.
Parker and Thompson came up short 8-2 in the No. 3 doubles contest and Smith and Covington lost 8-1 in the top-seeded match.
The Lady Raiders (2-5, 2-5 SAC) will honor their senior players ahead of Thursday’s match against Hoke County High School.
Senior night will start at 3:30 p.m. followed by singles at 4 p.m.
