ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior High School opened Mid-South Conference play in impressive fashion Monday, defeating visiting Pine Forest 7-2 on its home courts to earn its second victory of the young season.
The Lady Raiders claimed five of six singles matches and added two of three doubles wins to secure the victory. The win was especially significant for Richmond, which was swept 9-0 by Pine Forest in last season's conference opener.
In singles, sophomore Molly Covington battled past Alyssa Stephens 6-1, 6-6, 10-2 in a tiebreaker, while junior Sydney Barnes earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Zolivia Reams. Junior Erin Drumwright, sophomore Rylee DeCubellis and senior Natalie Richardson each posted dominant straight-set shutout victories, all winning 6-0, 6-0.
Richmond's lone singles defeat came at No. 1, where senior Colbie Covington fought through a tightly contested match before falling to Jamey Sparks 4-6, 6-6, 7-9 in a tiebreaker.
In doubles play, Drumwright and Molly Covington cruised to an 8-2 win over Reams and Berklie Bunnels, while Richardson and DeCubellis completed an 8-0 sweep of Amani Davis and Cynthia Smith. The team of Colbie Covington and Barnes dropped a hard-fought match to Sparks and Stephens, 8-8 (4-10 tiebreaker).
The victory improves Richmond to 2-0 on the season following last week's 8-1 non-conference win over Cheraw. The Lady Raiders will look to keep their undefeated start intact Tuesday when they host Union Pines in a non-conference match scheduled for 4 p.m. at Richmond Senior High School.
