ROCKINGHAM — The Lady Raider tennis team will become Richmond Senior High School’s third fall sports program to officially open the 2025 season Wednesday.
On the eve of the new campaign, the Lady Raiders and fifth-year head coach Jessica Covington will look to build on success from last year, all while filling in two-thirds of their starting lineup.
With 14 players on their team, one of the largest rosters in recent seasons, the Lady Raiders spent the summer months trying to get ahead of the curve. Following a successful tennis camp, Richmond began summer workouts in mid June.
“The preseason has been going great,” Covington said. “We kickstarted our summer with tennis camp the first week into summer and that allowed the girls, many of whom have never played before, to learn a lot of the basics.
“We started workouts in June which is earlier than previous years and I feel that we have had a lot of growth and improvement,” she added. “The girls have been working on learning how to play the game, keep score, basic ground strokes, serves and the fundamentals of tennis.”
After the departure of four seniors from last year’s roster, including regional qualifier Hanna Smith, only senior Jentry Denson and junior Colbie Covington will be returning starters for the Lady Raiders this fall.
Denson will move up a spot in the lineup into the No. 1 seed, while Covington will jump two spots into the No. 2 position.
“I am excited to see Jentry and Colbie in the top two spots this year,” Coach Covington shared. “They are going to have to work hard in these positions and it will be a challenge for both of them. I think it will allow them both to grow as players and keep them on their toes this season.”
The Lady Raiders also return four other players from a season ago. Though they had limited playing time last year, the four players hope to make a bigger impact this fall. They are senior Skyler Collins, juniors Angelina Culbreth and Natalie Richardson, and sophomore Sydney Barnes.
Seven of Richmond’s eight newcomers are freshmen, all of whom are new to the sport — Autumn Cooper, Molly Covington, Rylee DeCubellis, Sadie Grooms, Autumn Maree, Carly McDonald and Briley Webb.
Sophomore Erin Drumwright, a three-sport athlete her freshman year, made the switch to tennis from volleyball this year.
“I am extremely excited about having eight new girls on the team,” Coach Covington said. “They are mostly freshmen, so that gives us time to work so we can be competitive in the future.
“That is usually the hard thing with coaching tennis. I get girls who have never touched a racket to come out as juniors. Having the opportunity to work and build this team of young freshmen is very encouraging for our tennis program.”
With the top two singles spots filled by Denson and Colbie Covington, the other Lady Raiders have had to challenge one another at practice to determine the rest of the starting lineup.
Coach Covington explained the challenges have sparked competition and led to the other top four starters to be named — No. 3 Barnes, No. 4 Molly Covington, No. 5 Culbreth and No. 6 Drumwright.
Adding emphasis to the competitive nature of the team challenges, Coach Covington said “anyone could move into the top sixth” this season. Richardson will start the year as the team’s No. 7 player.
Doubles pairings, which will see three matches played each contest, are still being finalized.
The Lady Raiders, along with the rest of Richmond’s athletic programs, will compete in the newly formed Mid-South Conference. Included in the split 8A/7A conference are Hoke County, Jack Britt, Overhills, Pinecrest and Pine Forest high schools.
Richmond, which is 7A, will battle for conference and playoff seedings with Jack Britt, Overhills and Pine Forest.
Another bonus this fall, Covington noted, was the addition of several non-conference matches. Over the past several years, the Lady Raiders have only played conference opponents.
“We added three non-conference matches this year and I really think it is important for these girls to get as much experience in match play as possible,” Covington said. “I think this will help prepare us better this season for our conference.
“With the new conference, I think it will give us a good opportunity to play some new teams. We have seen Jack Britt at regionals and I feel like they will be very competitive. I am interested to see how we match up with Pine Forest and Overhills.”
Even though the team is younger this fall and enters with less overall experience, Covington said there are a few markers that will define success.
“The Lady Raider tennis team's goal is to get better every day and be competitive,” Covington closed. “If we do that, I will be happy and feel that we will have a great season.”
Richmond hosts Montgomery Central High School in its season opener Wednesday at 4 p.m.
SEASON SCHEDULE: Click here for an always up-to-date schedule for the Richmond girls’ tennis team.
The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the varsity tennis team this fall.
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