Prep tennis

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 1, 2004 1:56 PM

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Gators chomp Southwest Edgecombe

PINETOPS -- Spring Creek emerged victorious in five of six singles matches and dealt SouthWest Edgecombe a 7-1 loss in Classes 1-A/2-A Carolina/Eastern Plains Conference action Thursday afternoon.

"Considering the rain we've been having the last couple of weeks and not getting on the courts, I was pleased with the way we played," Spring Creek coach Robert Jones said.

The Gators (12-3) climbed to 10-3 against C/EPC and have clinched the league's No. 1 spot for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A dual-team playoffs. They'll host the Coastal Plains champion on Oct. 16.

Top-seeded Stacy Smith, Sarah Warren, Sarah Bragg, Cynthia Breault and Melanie Harlow each picked up a singles win. Harlow needed three sets to defeat the Cougars' Megan Brown. Warren and Bragg each posted a shutout at Nos. 3 and 4 singles, respectively.

Meghan Rhodes claimed the Cougars' lone singles win 6-3, 6-3 against Kelly Murphy.

"Kelly kept a lot of balls in play and Meghan hit some winners, especially on her forehand side," Jones said. "They are both very consistent and there is not a lot of difference in their games.

"Brittany (Laws) played a good first set. Stacy settled down and started keeping more balls in play."

The tandems of Smith-Warren and Murphy-Breault won in doubles.

Spring Creek entertains Greene Central next Tuesday afternoon.

Spring Creek 7, SW Edgecombe 1

Singles -- No. 1 Stacy Smith (SC) d. Brittany Laws 7-5, 6-1; No. 2 Meghan Rhodes (SWE) d. Kelly Murphy 6-3, 6-3; No. 3 Sarah Warren (SC) d. Nikki Taylor 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Sarah Bragg (SC) d. Erin Perry 6-0, 6-0; No. 5 Cynthia Breault (SC) d. Johanna Alvarez 6-0, 6-1; No. 6 Melanie Harlow (SC) d. Megan Brown 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.

Doubles -- No. 1 Smith-Warren (SC) d. Rhodes-Taylor 8-1; No. 2 Murphy-Breault (SC) d. Laws-Perry 8-6.

No. 3 doubles not contested.

Golden Falcons

thump S. Central

PIKEVILLE -- Nicole Taylor escaped a third-set tiebreaker at the No. 4 singles spot and helped Charles B. Aycock shut out South Central 9-0 in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play Thursday.

Taylor stopped Ayana Ishido 6-2, 2-6, 7-3 en route to her 12th singles victory of the season.

"Nicole was playing a really good player and stepped up her game in that tiebreaker," Aycock coach Luke Vail said. "She learned a good tactical lesson last week at Fike and played a smart tiebreaker. That was a good win and good experience for her."

Raychel Batts, Leslie Sasser, Carlyn Claiborne, Patricia Owen and Laine Purcell each won in singles. Sasser and Claiborne remained unbeaten in 16 outings, while Owen collected her second straight shutout.

Sasser-Claiborne climbed to 14-0 with an 8-2 decision against the Falcons' Lauren Lee-Jolisia Smith at No. 1 doubles. The tandems of Batts-Taylor and Purcell-Hadley Peacock also won.

"We were much more aggressive in doubles and that's something that's got to happen once you're in the playoffs," Vail said. "I thought Batts-Taylor worked well together in doubles.

"Overall, it was one of those matches that I thought everybody played well."

C.B. Aycock (15-1, 11-0 ECC) entertains Eastern Wayne next Tuesday.

C.B. Aycock 9, South Central 0

Singles -- No. 1 Raychel Batts (CBA) d. Lauren Lee 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Leslie Sasser (CBA) d. Jolisia Smith 6-1, 6-0; No. 3 Carlyn Claiborne (CBA) d. Ashley Summers 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Nicole Taylor (CBA) d. Ayana Ishido 6-2, 2-6, 7-3; No. 5 Patricia Owen (CBA) d. Tiffany Wood 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Laine Purcell (CBA) d. Lizzie Blayney 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles -- No. 1 Sasser-Claiborne (CBA) d. Lee-Smith 8-2; No. 2 Batts-Taylor (CBA) d. Summers-Ishido 8-1; No. 3 Purcell-Hadley Peacock (CBA) d. Wood-Danyel Sutton 8-1.

Warriors roll

past So. Wayne

DUDLEY -- Eastern Wayne swept the singles and doubles en route to a 9-0 victory against archrival Southern Wayne in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference play Thursday afternoon.

The teams played eight-game pro sets in singles and doubles.

Anna Weeks, Brandi Butts, Tricia Chatman, Lauren Bynum, Ashley Smith and Sami Abrahamson each triumphed in singles play. Butts earned a shutout at No. 2 against Whitli Thornton, while Chatman and Smith each lost just one game.

Eastern Wayne is the guest of C.B. Aycock next Tuesday.

Eastern Wayne 9, Southern Wayne 0

Singles -- No. 1 Anna Weeks (EW) d. Beth Brown 8-2; No. 2 Brandi Butts (EW) d. Whitli Thornton 8-0; No. 3 Tricia Chatman (EW) d. Kasey Powell 8-1; No. 4 Lauren Bynum (EW) d. Tara Tillman 8-3; No. 5 Ashley Smith (EW) d. Emily Taylor 8-1; No. 6 Sami Abrahamson (EW) d. Christie Westbrook 8-6.

Doubles -- No. 1 Weeks-Butts (EW) d. Brown-Thornton 8-1; No. 2 Chatman-Bynum (EW) d. Powell-Leslie Barrow 8-1; No. 3 Smith-Abrahamson (EW) d. Katie Savage-Lauren Harrell 8-1.

Tigers clinch

1-A playoff berth

TEACHEY -- James Kenan clinched a berth in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A dual-team playoffs and the Super Six Conference championship with a 7-2 victory against Wallace-Rose Hill on Thursday.

The Tigers seized the postseason spot despite missing Erica Brown and losing Brittany Crabtree to a sinus infection. Crabtree attempted to play at No. 4 singles, but withdrew "due to blurred vision and dizziness," said Kenan coach Chip Hardy.

Christa Jones, Allison Fonvielle, Beth Parrish, Meagan Sanderlin and Lorry Chestnutt each earned a straight-set singles win.

"Erica severely sprained her ankle last Tuesday night and will be out of action at least week, maybe more," Hardy said. "She slipped on some water that was on a gym floor. That's our luck. We hope to have her back by the playoffs and earlier if she can go.

"This means that we are having to change our doubles teams around that haven't had a chance to practice together yet. We've been looking forward to the Harrells matchup next Monday, but it looks as though we may have to travel with our guns half loaded."

The Tigers are 7-2 overall.

James Kenan 7, Wallace-Rose Hill 2

Singles -- No. 1 Christa Jones (JK) d. Sarah Hughes 6-0, 6-1; No. 2 Allison Fonvielle (JK) d. Rachael Devane 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 Beth Parrish (JK) d. Kelly Cavenaugh 6-1, 6-3; No. 4 Beth Cottle (WRH) by def.; No. 5 Meagan Sanderlin (JK) d. Lindsey Powell 6-4, 6-2; No. 6 Lorry Chestnutt (JK) d. Hannah Evans 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles -- No. 1 Jones-Fonvielle (JK) d. Hughes-Cavenaugh 8-2; No. 2 Parrish-Sanderlin (JK) d. Devane-Cottle 8-3; No. 3 Powell-Evans (JK) d. Bass-Smith 8-1.

Greene Central

shuts out N. Pitt

BETHEL -- Greene Central didn't lose a game in singles and doubles combined, and recorded a perfect 9-0 score against North Pitt in Carolina/Eastern Plains 1-A/2-A Conference play Thursday.

The Rams (19-2) remained unbeaten in 14 league matches heading into Tuesday's battle at Spring Creek.

"Mark Carson is doing a great job with the North Pitt team," Rams coach Donald Clark said. "I was really impressed with how much his girls had improved since the first time we played them.

"They hit a lot of balls back today and were very competitive."

Meredith Rouse, Sarah Moore, Summer Chase, Holly Mace, Christi Murphy and Ashley Harrell each collected a singles win. Harrell and Murphy are 20-1 overall, while Mace is 19-1. Chase has 18 victories, while Rouse and Moore each stand 17-4.

Greene Central 9, North Pitt 0

Singles -- No. 1 Meredith Rouse (GC) d. Jacinta Jones 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Sarah Moore (GC) d. Nicki Leggett 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 Summer Chase (GC) d. Tracy Wade 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Holly Mace (GC) d. Danielle Abeyounis 6-0, 6-0; No. 5 Christi Murphy (GC) d. Sierra Roberson 6-0, 6-0; No. 6 Ashley Harrell (GC) d. Markia Camper 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles -- No. 1 Rouse-Moore (GC) d. Wade-Leggett 8-0; No. 2 Murphy-Carolyn Turk (GC) d. Jones-Abeyounis 8-0; No. 3 Mace-Carly Hart (GC) d. Roberson-Camper 8-0.

Rosewood rips

Farmville Central

FARMVILLE -- Rosewood dominated singles and doubles play in a 9-0 victory against Carolina/Eastern Plains 1-A/2-A Conference foe Farmville Central on Thursday afternoon.

Kayce Brantham, Leah Smith, Sidney Worrell, Kourtney Humphrey, Missy Bailey and Erica Nichols each picked up a singles win. Brantham climbed to 12-3 overall, while Worrell and Humphrey have 11 victories apiece in 16 matches.

Rosewood (10-6, 9-6 C/EPC) has clinched the league's second spot for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A dual-team playoffs. The Eagles face Super Six champion James Kenan in the opening round Oct. 16.

Rosewood 9, Farmville Central 0

Singles -- No. 1 Kayce Brantham (R) d. Robin Moore 6-0, 6-0; No. 2 Leah Smith (R) d. Justine Williford 6-0, 6-0; No. 3 Sidney Worrell (R) d. Adriana Joyner 6-0, 6-0; No. 4 Kourtney Humphrey (R) d. Nicole Williford 6-0, 6-0; No. 5 Missy Bailey (R) d. Meghan Bensen 6-0, 6-2; No. 6 Erica Nichols (R) d. Rebecca Gade 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles -- No. 1 Smith-Humphrey (R) d. Moore-J. Williford 8-3; No. 2 Bailey-Nichols (R) d. Joyner-N. Williford 8-1; No. 3 Jamie Andrews-Caitlyn Phelan (R) d. Benson-Gade 8-4.