ROCKINGHAM — Had a couple of hits landed the other way, the Lady Raider tennis team could have won Tuesday’s season opener, according to head coach Jessica Covington.
Richmond welcomed in new Sandhills Athletic Conference opponent Southern Lee High School, and despite having a chance to win late, the Lady Raiders fell 2-7.
Both of Richmond’s wins came in singles play, courtesy of junior No. 4 Addison Massey and No. 6 senior Mariah Waddell.
“We played very competitively and a lot of the matches could have gone either way,” Covington said. “Some of the girls had nerves and that affected the way they played, but overall they did really well for their first match.”
Massey defeated Kambell Beasley 8-5 to earn her first win of the season, while Waddell battled against Evie Eller.
Trailing in the middle of her match, which lasted nearly two hours, Waddell rallied to tie it 8-8 and won the tiebreaker 7-3.
“Addison and Mariah did awesome today,” Covington said. “Mariah was down in her match and came back to force the tiebreaker. That also can get a hold of your nerves, but she played really well to get the win.
“And Addison also did a great job, moving really well on the court,” she added. “Their singles wins gave us an opportunity to stay in the match and at least gave us a chance to win in doubles, which was huge.”
Junior Addison Massey returns a shot during her 8-5 win in Tuesday’s season opener. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
Sophomore No. 2 Neely Turner went back-and-forth against Kate Jackson, but dropped her match 7-9. No. 5 senior Kirsten McDonald also played her opponent close, nearly eliminating a deficit late, but lost to Carrie Bryan 6-8.
No. 1 senior Paris Almon and No. 3 junior Maren Carter fell to their respective opponents, Genesis Gonzalez and Anna Boone, by scores of 0-8.
“Hard work pays off, especially since I’ve been staying after practice,” Waddell said. “It feels good to be out here with the team. I was ready for the match to be over, but I told myself I needed to win it to help the team.
“Today was a learning experience because we saw what it was like to play against other girls who aren’t on our team.”
Trailing 2-4 after singles play, Richmond had a chance to win the match if it could sweep the doubles competition. Unfortunately for the Lady Raiders, they lost all three contests.
The No. 1 duo of Almon and Turner fell 0-8 to Gonzalez and Jackson, the No. 2 pairing of Carter and Massey lost 2-8 against Boone and Beasley and No. 3 McDonald and Waddell came up short 6-8 to Bryan and Eller.
“Footwork is something we’ll continue to work on,” Covington explained. “The girls need to move their feet and square up the ball. That’s something they have to make habitual.”
The Lady Raiders (0-1 SAC) will take a day off from competitive play before returning to their home court on Thursday against Pinecrest High School. Singles matches will begin at 4 p.m.
