ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond Senior High School boys’ tennis team will become the second spring sports program to open play this week.
With the new season, the Raiders will rely on a combination of returning starters and hopeful newcomers to compete in the Sandhills Athletic Conference.
Like many of its recent seasons, the Raiders are shifting to a new set of senior players to lead the team.
Fifth-year head coach Jessica Covington feels confident that the Raiders will be competitive in the conference this spring, led by a trio of senior returners, as well as a couple of underclassmen returners.
The Raiders’ three returning senior players this season are Jordan Jacobs, Matthew Leggett and Gavin Applewhite. All multi-year players, the three seniors will round out the top three spots in Richmond’s lineup this spring.
Jacobs, a four-year starter for the Raiders, will remain in the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. Leggett will stay in the No. 2 singles spot for another season and Applewhite is making the jump to the No. 3 spot, two spots higher in the lineup than last year.
The Raiders will be without former players Brent Humann and Will Whitley, both of whom were top five starters during their senior season last year.
Richmond returns two other members from last season, both likely to find themselves playing in larger roles this season. Covington expects sophomore Ben Lutz to contend for the No. 4 spot in the lineup, making him a starter this season, while senior Billy West is likely a No. 5 or No. 6 seed.
New to the team this spring are juniors Jordan Hamilton and Davion Watkins, as well as sophomore Clinton Parker. Showing promise early on, Covington said Hamilton is expected to fill out the starting lineup when the team begins action this week.
Covington noted that the Raiders will use their first couple of matches to find the best doubles pairings, a part of each match that usually helps determine the overall winner.
The Raiders will play all of their matches against SAC opponents this season, a 12-match slate. Richmond will play Southern Lee, Pinecrest, Hoke County, Union Pines, Lee County and Scotland high schools two times each.
Last season, the Raiders recorded a 5-4 overall record and were third in the final standings. The team narrowly missed out on the 4A Mideast regional tournament, something that’s a goal for the team this year, Covington said.
The last time the Raiders made the postseason was during the 2023 season, which sent the Raiders to the 4A dual team tournament and a couple of former players to the doubles tournament.
Richmond also expects to compete against all of the conference’s teams, and hopes to contend with perennial powerhouse Pinecrest for the conference title.
The Raiders will begin their season Thursday on the road at Pinecrest. Singles matches will start at 4 p.m., followed by doubles.
SEASON SCHEDULE: Click here for an updated season schedule for the Richmond boys’ tennis team.
The Richmond Observer will continue its award-winning coverage of the Raider tennis team this spring.
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