SOUTHERN PINES — The Richmond Senior High School girls’ tennis team dropped both ends of a doubleheader at Pinecrest on Tuesday.
Playing both regular season matches on the road as a result of a make-up from earlier in the season, the Lady Raiders suffered match defeats of 0-9 and 0-6.
A perennial powerhouse in the Sandhills Athletic Conference, the Lady Patriots collected nine shutout wins across the two matches.
“Any time we play Pinecrest, we know it’s going to be a challenge,” head coach Jessica Covington said. “Even though we lost, I was proud of the girls’ efforts. When they were down, they didn’t give up and really tried to compete. The scores don’t indicate how well they played.
“This is definitely a learning experience for the team,” she added. “Playing against good opponents makes you a better player, and I think the girls will take what they learned today and use it moving forward.”
Match No. 1
In the first match, only senior No. 1 Hana Oki and senior No. 6 Ashlyn Bouldin managed to win a point in singles play. Oki lost 2-8 against Brooke LaFrenz and Bouldin fell 1-8 to Gabby Hooper.
Neely Turner, Addison Massey, Hanna Smith and Maren Carter were all shutout against their respective opponents.
The No. 2 doubles pairing of Massey and Smith, along with the No. 3 duo of Carter and Savannah Jordan, both made competitive efforts at a win.
Massey and Smith came up short 5-8 against Emma Medina and Sophia Pandich, while Carter and Jordan lost 3-8 to Eliza Hage and Cina Huston. Oki and Turner lost 0-8 in the No. 1 match.
Match No. 2
The second match saw just six total matches played, all singles. No. 3 Massey and No. 6 Bouldin managed to win points against their respective opponents.
Bouldin’s three points were a team-high in a 3-8 loss to Ella Boals, and Massey notched a point in a 1-8 defeat to Estelle Kilpatrick.
This time, Oki, Turner, Smith and Carter suffered shutout losses. No doubles matches were played on the back end of the doubleheader.
Richmond (3-5, 3-5 SAC) travels to Hoke County High School on Thursday, looking for the season sweep of the Lady Bucks. Singles matches will begin at 4 p.m.
