ROCKINGHAM – The Richmond Senior High School Lady Raider tennis team celebrated two momentous occasions Monday afternoon against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Purnell Swett High School on its home court.
First, Richmond rolled past the Lady Rams 7-2 to win its 11th-straight match, which is the longest stretch of consecutive wins in the program’s history. The other big celebration was that of the seven Lady Raider senior players, who were honored by family, friends and fans prior to the match on senior night.
Third-year head coach Mike Way’s tennis team is made up of eight players this fall, seven of whom are seniors. They are Morgan Hooks, Jayana Nicholson, Taylor Parrish, Emily Parsons, Greyson Way, Chloe Wiggins and Ashley Yepez. Because the team is so compact, all of the seniors have played a vital role in helping the Lady Raiders find success on the court this season — and its their fight that Way is most proud of.
“This is such a strong group of players,” Way said of his senior core. “It was a bittersweet and special day — record-wise, they’re the most successful team in the history of Richmond. They’re all special to me because we all got (to Richmond) at the same time. More than anything, I’m happy for them. They’ve worked hard the past couple of years and have shown some fight — they don’t quit and every player expects to win.
“We can only control what we can control — and I tell the girls to go out and try the best they can no matter who they’re playing,” he added of the winning streak. “They should be proud of what they’ve done — we understand our expectations, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try and win when we play. I can’t say I thought we’d win 11 in a row — but I can tell you we’d be competitive on every court.”
Monday’s match was never really close, as it mirrored the first time Richmond played Purnell Swett this season on Aug. 21. In the first meeting, which was just the third match of the regular season, the Lady Raiders ousted the Lady Rams 8-1 to pick up their first win of what has turned into a solid campaign. All five of Richmond’s courts were is use Monday, and by the end of the six singles competition, the Lady Raiders had already netted another win.
In No. 1 singles action, Nicholson made quick work of No. 1 Lady Ram Melina Cummings 8-2, while No. 2 Greyson Way bounced Tierra Locklear 8-1. The longest, and perhaps most competitive, match in singles came when No. 3 Lady Raider and reigning Official Richmond County Female Athlete of the Week Parsons battled back to win seven straight sets over Harlie Scott, notching the win 9-7.
“I’ve had a lot of faith in this team, so I always thought we could win like we have,” Nicholson said following her win over Cummings. “Being the only one on the team who has played all four years, I feel like I’m a leader on the team — which means I can’t let my teammates down and I have to be a role model.
“The bus rides have been fun this season,” she added of her favorite part of her senior season. “And practices are a lot of fun — I know they’re supposed to be serious, but we have to have fun to be successful.”
Greyson Way echoed her teammate’s sentiments, and also added the special nature of playing for her dad the past couple of years.
“This season has been really fun, and we’re all such really good friends on the team,” she noted. “We’ve worked really hard to do this well this season, and we’ve had a lot of good laughs along the way.
“We all like playing together with tennis because half of us play soccer and the other half play softball,” Way added. “Playing for my dad is really cool because we’re really close. I like hanging out with him a little more before I leave for college.”
No. 4 player Chloe Wiggins and No. 5 Taylor Parrish both breezed past their Lady Ram counterparts, knocking off Elysha Strickland and Lauren Strickland 8-1, respectively. The lone Lady Raider to drop her singles match was Hooks, who was narrowly beaten by Mya Sampson 8-5.
“This winning streak has been fun because we’re the only women’s tennis team in program history to win that many in a row,” Wiggins explained. “I’ve made my opponents move more, which has helped me this season, and I’ve gotten better at not getting mad when I lose a point.
“My favorite part of the year has been our inside jokes on the team,” she laughed. “One of them is ‘dang, Ashley,’ which started when Ashley missed a ball in practice. Now when we miss a ball in practice, we all yell it.”
Parsons came right out and said that the winning streak and her senior season have been a joy because none of the team members are tennis players first, which adds to the success.
“It’s been really amazing because this isn’t anyone’s competitive sport,” Parsons, a soccer player, noted. “But we all came out here to have fun and I think that’s where our success comes from. We don’t have that same pressure and we come out here to let off some steam and have fun.
“When we played Jack Britt (last week), I lost my singles match and wasn’t having a good day,” she continued of her favorite moment. “And Greyson was my doubles partner that day and she gave me a big pep talk and she was my biggest cheerleader — which helped me play better.”
The five single match wins gave Way’s squad the magic number it needed to win, but the Lady Raiders weren’t finished, as they took two of the three doubles matches to end the afternoon. The No. 1 doubles team of Nicholson and Wiggins handed a loss to Cummings and Locklear 8-4, while the No. 2 tandem of Greyson Way and Parrish offed Scott and Elysha Strickland easily 8-1.
Yepez and the team’s only underclassman, junior Emily Buie, got in on the action during doubles play, but were bested in the No. 3 match. The Richmond duo gave Lauren Strickland and Sampson all they could handle, but the visiting team took the match 9-8 for Purnell Swett’s third and final match win.
“I wish I would have started playing tennis earlier,” Hooks said of her first year on the team. “It was so much fun trying to learn the sport. I’ve enjoyed winning in my doubles matches and playing with Taylor — she’s really good and helps by encouraging me.”
Hooks echoed Wiggins’ story of missing balls in practice as her favorite moment from the season, which has become a running inside joke amongst all the team members.
“It’s awesome being out here with the team and winning 11 in a row,” Parrish shared. “None of us are tennis players, so it’s kind of cool that we’re using our athletic abilities in another sport. Beating Jack Britt the second time was great because it was a crucial match in the season. It came down to doubles, and we managed to pull it out.”
The Lady Raiders will look to end the regular season in a 12-match winning streak Wednesday against SAC-leading Pinecrest High School. The only time Richmond has lost to a conference opponent this season was against the Lady Patriots, a 9-0 sweep, in the match just after defeating Purnell Swett the first time. Pinecrest is undefeated in SAC play this year, so the Lady Raiders are aiming to end its streak.
The regular season finale against Pinecrest is scheduled for 4 p.m. Way explained that there will be a meeting this Thursday among SAC coaches to discuss the foregoing of the SAC tournament due to Hurricane Florence. Regionals are set to begin on Friday, Oct. 19, and will roll into Saturday, Oct. 20.
