ROCKINGHAM — Impressing in its home opener on Monday, the Lady Raider tennis team shut out Hoke County High School.
Six different players from Richmond earned a singles win as part of a 9-0 match victory.
Sweeping the singles competition, the Lady Raiders added three wins in doubles play after the Lady Bucks forfeited the matches.
Junior Neely Turner and senior Addison Massey added to their team-leading season win total, improving to 2-0 against Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents.
In the No. 2 match, Turner defeated Caitlyn Moore 7-5 in the duo’s first game. An injury sidelined Moore part way through the second game, giving Turner the victory.
Massey competed against Bailey Mass in the No. 3 match, earning the victory behind scores of 6-1 and 6-0.
Entering the win column for the first time this season were senior Hana Oki, sophomore Hanna Smith, senior Ashlyn Bouldin and senior Savannah Jordan.
Oki faced off against Alyssa Cascavilla in what turned out to be a marathon match. Playing for three hours, Oki outlasted Casvavilla by set scores of 6-3 and 6-4.
“The team did awesome today,” head coach Jessica Covington said. “They showed a lot of improvement from our first match and I’m glad all the girls who played were able to get a win.
“Hana is the MVP today,” she added. “She battled really hard for three hours to win her singles match.”
Smith, a second-year player, took care of business against Alyssa Pridgen. She blanked her No. 4 Lady Buck opponent 6-0 in the first set, before cruising to a 6-1 win in the second set.
Bouldin and Jordan, both first-year players this fall, earned impressive victories over their respective opponents.
In the No. 5 match, Bouldin overcame several deuces to defeat Azani McLean 6-0 and 6-1.
Following her in the No. 6 singles contest, Jordan earned a straight sweep of Alissa Phillips 6-0 and 6-0 to collect her first career win.
The Lady Raiders (1-1, 1-1 SAC) have another home conference match on Thursday against Union Pines High School. The teams will begin singles play at 4 p.m.
