ROCKINGHAM — With the clouds from Hurricane Irma dissipating Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Raiders tennis team kept their winning streak alive in a make-up match against Purnell Swett High School, winning 8-1.
In what was the team’s fourth consecutive win, head coach Mike Way was impressed by how his Lady Raiders (4-3, 4-2 SAC) have played so far in what he called a “top-heavy” schedule.
Way said because of inclement weather earlier in the year, the Lady Raiders began the season against perennially powerhouse teams in Pine Forest and Pinecrest High Schools, which put the team in a 0-2 hole. Their next match against Jack Britt was halted halfway, again due to rain, so Way sees his team as being 4-2.
The way the Lady Raiders have played since, however, has lit the court on fire.
“It’s getting better, but we fight this battle every year,” said Way. “I have girls that play other sports. There’s good parts to that because it means they’re athletic, but it also means they’re not always focused on tennis. Our season started on August 1 so for a lot of these girls, the first time they’re playing tennis was at our first match. But I get the sense that they’re starting to get comfortable.”
Comfortable could be an understatement, however, as No. 1 player Destiny Buie defeated Lady Ram Abi Lowry 6-4 and 6-1. No. 3 Kathleen Pittman won 6-3, 6-3 over Malina Cummings, and No. 5 player Meredith Stogner beat Harlie Scott 6-1 and 6-2 as the seniors swept their counterparts. Juniors Jayana Nicholson, Greyson Way and Chloe Wiggins all defeated their respective opponents to make a clean sweep in singles competition.
Later in the afternoon, Buie and Pittman beat Purnell Swett’s Lowry and McKenzie Cummings in the No. 1 doubles match, while Nicholson and Way shut out Malina Cummings and Elysha Strickland 8-0 to take home the No. 2 match.
Although Richmond’s official record now sits at 4-3 overall, and 4-2 in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, the match against Britt will be made up at a later date. Its match against Lumberton, which will be a make-up match, is set for Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Richmond Senior High School, and Thursday will see the Lady Raiders travel to Purnell Swett to play at the same time.
