ROCKINGHAM — A pair of losses to rival Scotland on Tuesday snapped the Raiders’ six-match winning streak.
Coming off a 12-day break between contests, the Raiders dropped the first match 2-7 before ending the day with a 1-8 loss.
Both of Richmond’s wins in the first match came in doubles play, while senior No. 2 Bradford Pittman earned a singles win in the second match.
“I felt like as a team we did not play our best game,” head coach Jessica Covington said. “Ty (Murray) and Bradford played well the first match, but did not come out with any wins. The other guys just did not show up for the first match and we beat ourselves in singles.
“We did come through and win in No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, which was good to set a better tone for the second match.”
The Raiders’ lineup was mixed up this week, with Murray and Pittman switching at the top two seeds. Senior Noah Aiken suffered an injury that ended his season, which shook up the No. 3 through No. 6 singles pairings.
Richmond’s first win was an 8-5 tally by sophomores Matthew Burns and Ethan McDonald in the No. 2 doubles match. They defeated Scotland’s Bryce Cooper and Cole Hamilton.
Senior Bradford Pittman returns a shot during his first match against Nick Eury on Tuesday.
On the next court over, seniors Douglas McDonald and Alex Yates combined to earn a No. 3 doubles victory against Daniel Caudill and Miles Murphy. The final score was 8-3.
Murray and Drew Hamilton put on a show in the No. 1 singles match, trading rallies and points for the better part of the competition. Hamilton, however, walked away with an 8-6 win.
Pittman battled Nick Eury in the No. 2 singles match, but came up short 4-8.
“Match two was much better for most of the players,” Covington said. “Bradford fought hard for his win and I was very proud of him, and it was by far his best match of the season.
“We played much better as a team, but still did not come out on top. We were upset because this probably cost us a chance at regionals.”
In the second match, Pittman surged back to defeat Eury 8-6 in what proved to be another back-and-forth affair. It was Richmond’s only win of the second slate of games.
Now 6-4 on the season and in third place, the Raiders will return to the court Thursday for their final two regular season matches. Purnell Swett High School (1-6) visits Richmond for senior night, with play set to begin at 4 p.m.
