FAYETTEVILLE — With the regular season coming to a close, the Lady Raiders tennis team is pushing to end the year on a definite high note, winning Monday afternoon 5-4 against Jack Britt High School to push their winning streak to eight straight matches.
Coming in to the matchup, head coach Mike Way knew Jack Britt would be tough competition — the main reason being the Lady Bucs got their No. 1 player back in Natasha Benson. Benson was out for the first matchup between the two teams, which was also a Richmond victory.
No. 1 Lady Raider Jayana Nicholson had her hands full with the returning player, losing 8-3, but Way said she played well, and the games were competitive.
“The difference comes because adding a No. 1 makes everyone else move down a spot,” Way added. “So theoretically they get stronger on every court.”
On those other courts in singles action, No. 2 Greyson Way defeated her Buccaneer counterpart Taylor Benson 8-3. Victory on the Richmond side was also found in the No. 4 match of Chloe Wiggins versus Hanna Jane and No. 5 Taylor Parrish against Cammie Combet, 8-5 and 8-3, respectively.
Emily Parsons in the No. 3 slot was beat 8-1 by Leonie Brown and Emily Buie was defeated 8-0 by Lady Buccaneer Tatyana Sluss in the No. 6 match.
Way described Monday’s test as “a battle,” and said it was his team’s toughness that got them through.Â
“We weren’t necessarily better than them, but we were tougher than them,” he went on to say.
Because of Richmond and Jack Britt splitting wins in singles action, the Lady Raiders would need to come through in doubles, and they did exactly that Monday. Even though the No. 1 team of Nicholson and Wiggins fell 8-4 to the Benson duo, the teams of Way and Parsons and Parrish and Morgan Hooks took care of business in the No. 2 and 3 matches 8-2 and 8-3 to wrap up another win.
With Monday’s victory, the Lady Raiders remain in second place in the Sandhills Athletic Conference and now run their streak up to eight games. The success is something the team has acknowledged, but are trying to temper expectations at the same time.
“We are trying to take them one at a time, but it is definitely something we have talked about,” Way said of the winning streak. “They should be proud of what they have accomplished. We are realistic about our expectations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try to win as much as we possibly can.”
Richmond (8-3, 8-1 SAC) will turn their attention to Seventy-First High School when it’ll face off against them at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at home before heading to Laurinburg to take on SAC rival Scotland High School at 4 p.m. on Thursday to potentially finish out the season. A make-up date for the game missed against Pinecrest due to Hurricane Florence has yet to be announced.
“We have to be ready for Scotland on Thursday,” Way concluded. “It seems to bring out the best in them.”
