CBA's Batts advances to 3-A state semis

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on October 31, 2004 2:00 AM

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Charles B. Aycock sophomore Raychel Batts reached the Class 3-A state tennis semifinals Saturday before bowing out to eventual Class 3-A singles champion Alexa Ely of Asheville. Ely downed the Golden Falcon No. 1 seed 6-3, 6-3.

Batts opened play on Friday by beating Eden Morehead's Cayce Wood 6-1, 6-1 then advanced to the semifinals on Saturday be beating Stephanie Gillis of Statesville 6-3, 6-0.

"Raychel really played the best tennis she has played all year," said Aycock tennis coach Luke Vail. "Ely has such a sharp, hard shot and a lot of games went to deuce. Raychel really proved she belongs here with the best players in the state."

Batts' teammates, Leslie Sasser and Carlyn Claiborne, won their first-round matchup in the state doubles tournament, beating Margaret Kernodle and Mary Carol Swajkoski of Burlington Williams 6-2, 6-3 on Friday. The pair lost their quarterfinal matchup to Teague and Hutton of Hickory 7-6(4), 6-4.

In the 2-A tournament, Green Central's Meredith Rouse and Sarah Moore lost to Liz Tans and Jenna Siskey of Charlotte Catholic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in Saturday's semifnials. Rouse and Moore opened play Friday with a win over Joy Ritchie and Chris Leonard of Salisbury 6-3, 6-1, then beat Martin and Mode of Shelby 6-2, 6-2 to qualify for Saturday's semifinals. Teammates Christi Murphy and Ashley Harrell lost a 6-2, 6-3 first-round match to Alexis Elmore and Emily Mathis of Wilkes Central.

In singles, Summer Chase was a 6-0, 6-0 loser in the first round to top-seeded and defending champion Birtney Cloer of Brevard.

The 1-A state tournament saw Rosewood's Kayce Brantham winning her Friday opener against Loren Bradley of Mount Airy 6-1, 6-3. Brantham lost her quarterfinal match against North Stokes' Kasey Mabe 6-0, 6-2. Mabe was a 1-A state finalist in 2002.

Anna Klein and Sarah Cox of Hendersonville beat Spring Creek's Sarah Warren and Stacy Smith 6-3, 7-5 in their Friday opener.