LUMBERTON — After posting its best win of the season last week against Hoke County High School, the Richmond Senior High School boys’ tennis team returned to Sandhills Athletic Conference action Tuesday.
On the road at Lumberton High School, it would be the host Pirates who would finish the day with a 9-0 victory. Richmond (2-4) would suffer its fourth shutout loss of the season, while the Pirates (1-2) earned their first victory of the spring.
“I felt like we matched up with them well, but it just didn’t amount to any team points,” second-year head coach Patrick Hope said afterward.
Richmond’s No. 1 seed senior Kevin Campos would battle Lumberton’s Josh Britt, but fall in the top-seeded match by a score of 4-6, 1-6. Following Campos in the No. 2 match was sophomore Bradford Pittman, who was defeated by CJ Nemeroff in straight sets, 3-6, 4-6.
After missing the Hoke County match, senior Caleb Brewer returned to the court in the No. 3 match, and was beaten by Q. Frederick 2-6, 4-6.
With a three-match winning streak on the line, Richmond’s No. 4 seed Mason Bailey, the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week, managed to push his match with M. Collins to a tiebreaker. But Collins would take the first set 4-6, before Bailey earned a set win 7-5. In the tiebreaker, Bailey fell 4-10.
Rounding out the final two singles matches for Richmond were No. 5 sophomore Karym Ojeda and No. 6 sophomore Alex Yates. Ojeda lost to E. Ivey 1-6, 1-6, and Yates pushed T. Cox to a tiebreaker (3-6, 6-4) before dropping the match 9-11.
In doubles competition, the No. 1 team of Campos and Pittman lost to Britt and Nemeroff 3-8, and Brewer and Bailey fell to Frederick and Collins 1-8. The closest doubles match of the afternoon was the No. 3 contest, as Cox and Collin Stark beat Ojeda and Yates 8-4.
“Mason and Alex split their sets and lost in match tiebreakers,” Hope said. “Kevin and Bradford continue to go against good No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, but continue to pluck a few games from their opponents.”
The Raiders will return to the court next Tuesday, March 26, when they host rival Scotland High School. Matches start at 4 p.m.
