SOUTHERN PINES — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ tennis team opened play Tuesday at Pinecrest High School, and head coach Jessica Covington said it was good for the Raiders to be back on the court competing for the first time in over a year.
Playing a doubleheader against the Patriots, Richmond would fall in both matches but not without a fight in the second one. The Raiders dropped the first match 9-0, before wrapping the afternoon with a 7-2 loss in the second match.
Due to the shortened Sandhills Athletic Conference only schedule, the Raiders and Patriots played eight-game pro sets, which requires a player to win eight games with a minimum advantage of two games to be determined the winner.
The Raiders’ preseason was shorter than normal due to having the majority of the team playing soccer this winter. But Covington said the team is falling into place and expects the Raiders to improve as the season advances.
“I was extremely proud of the guys, and they all played awesome considering we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to practice,” Covington said. “They really did a good job, and I’m pleased with Ty (Murray) and Alex (Yates) for both winning their second match.
“The amount of rallying we did was impressive, and I don’t think the score isn’t indicative of how we played. The pure athleticism of our boys showed yesterday against a really good team.”
Picking up the two Raiders’ wins were No. 3 sophomore Ty Murray and No. 6 senior Alex Yates. Both would earn a singles win over his respective opponent, as Yates defeated Jordan Greenblatt 8-5.
Murray impressed fans when he dug in and outlasted Austyn Cooper, winning the tiebreaker 11-9. After the two players traded scores to 9-9, Murray recorded two straight points to earn the win.
“It felt really amazing when I scored that final point to beat Austyn and we had a very interesting match the whole time,” Murray said. “It was crazy how even we were matched and it was both very exciting and also nerve racking. But I’m so happy I came out on top and won one of my first matches of the season.
“I think playing Pinecrest as our first match was a blessing for us because obviously Pinecrest is a very challenging opponent, so I think this match just upped our level of play even more.”
Sophomore Ty Murray returns a ball against Austyn Cooper in his 11-9 win on Tuesday.
In the first match, No. 1 senior Bradford Pittman and No. 2 sophomore Matthew Burns each fell 8-0 to Marshall Landy and Charlies Hodges, respectively.
Murray and senior No. 4 Noah Aiken lost 8-2 to Ryan Grafenberg and Will Blackwood, and No. 5 sophomore Ethan McDonald and Yates both came up short 8-0 to James Ellman and Garrett Kane.
Doubles play in the first match saw Richmond’s No. 2 (Burns and Murray) and No. 3 (McDonald and Yates) groupings pick up a game against their opponents, but still fell 8-1.
McDonald and Aiken both improved during their second singles match of the day, earning three games each in 8-3 losses. Pittman and Burns both battled against Landry and Hodges, but came up empty.
The Raiders would also drop all three doubles matches in the second part of the doubleheader, but the pairings of No. 2 Burns and Murray and No. 3 McDonald and Yates managed to pick up a game.
Moving forward, Covington said the matches against a quality Patriots team will benefit the Raiders as they prepare for other SAC opponents.
“Our boys saw the level at which Pinecrest plays and that allowed us to see how we can work the court better, especially with our positioning,” Covington said. “Now we see where our weaknesses are and what we can improve on.
“I’m really excited because we’ve got a team we can work with and improve on throughout the season,” she closed. “Playing Pinecrest will help us with Jack Britt and the rest of the conference.”
Richmond (0-2) will return to action at home against Jack Britt High School (0-0) on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
