SANFORD — The Richmond Senior High School boys tennis team started its three-match week on the right side of the net Tuesday.
Returning to action for just the second time since spring break, the Raiders completed the regular-season sweep of Lee County High School.
On the road, Richmond earned a convincing 9-0 victory, sweeping singles and doubles play. It was the second time this season the Raiders blanked the Yellow Jackets.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to play competitively frequently,” head coach Jessica Covington said.
“The guys have been ready to get back at it and they showed that today. They were aggressive all match long and it resulted in wins for everybody. I think them staying consistent at practice really helped.”
The Raiders recorded a shutout in one singles match and one doubles match. No. 5 junior Gavin Applewhite notched a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Jason Benitez.
Applewhite and his doubles partner, freshman Ben Lutz, teamed up to hand Benitez and Jayden Gibbs an 8-0 defeat in the No. 3 doubles pairing.
No. 4 senior Will Whitley nearly blanked his singles opponent Edgar Aguire. He won by game scores of 6-0 and 6-1.
Adding singles victories were No. 1 junior Jordan Jacobs, No. 2 junior Matthew Leggett, No. 3 senior Brent Humann and Lutz in the No. 6 singles match.
Jacobs defeated Finley Benton 6-2, 6-4, while Leggett outperformed Nathan Jones 6-1 and 7-5 in a tiebreaker.
Humann cruised past Hunter Jackson 6-3, 6-1, while Lutz completed the team’s clean sheet with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Gibbs.
The No.1 duo of Jacobs and Leggett defeated Benton and Jones 8-1 in doubles, with Humann and Whitley beating Jackson and Aguire 8-3 in the No. 2 doubles match.
With a quick turnaround, the Raiders (3-3, 3-3 SAC) will host Hoke County High School Wednesday. Richmond and the Bucks will begin singles at 4:30 p.m.
