RALEIGH – The Lady Raiders tennis team put fourth a valiant effort against Sanderson High School on Tuesday, but were unable to come out victorious, thus ending its North Carolina High School Athletic Association playoff run.
Richmond, which entered the tournament as a wildcard team, wasn’t able to to get on the scoreboard, as it fell to No. 2-seeded Sanderson. The Lady Raiders lost in straight matches 6-0, 6-0.
“It was a bit of a rough day,” said head coach Mike Way. “We could’ve played better today, but it was a tough. They (Sanderson) were just that good.”
In singles, No. 1 through 5 were unable to defeat their opponents, but in the final game of the season, Way was happy to see his girls step up to the challenge.
Junior Jayana Nicholson led the team in the No. 1 spot, but was unable to prevail against No. 1 Lady Spartan Sibel Tanik. No. 2 senior Kathleen Pittman and No. 3 junior Greyson Way also couldn’t muster enough to move on, as they fell to Julianna Craft and Anna Holshouser, respectively.
In the bottom three for Richmond, No. 4 senior Meredith Stogner fell to Becca Bollinger, No. 5 junior Emily Parsons was bested by Meg Spickard, and No. 6 Taylor Parrish dropped the last match to Melanie Schenberger.
Doubles matches were not played.
“Overall it was a successful season,” Way said of the 2017 campaign. “And in the end, we put ourselves in a position to get better next year. We want to be to continue to improve and get ready for next season.”Â
