Regional tennis
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 24, 2011 2:00 PM
WILSON -- Six Wayne County tennis players extended their respective individual seasons for at least one more week.
Eastern Wayne's Savannah Sutton and Grace Delbridge ended up second and third, respectively, in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A east regional singles tournament contested at Barton College.
Charles B. Aycock's tandems of Brooke Barfield-Ashton Walker and Katie Gurley-Misty Edwards concluded regional doubles play second and fourth, respectively.
All six qualified for the state tournament, which begins Friday morning in Burlington.
"It's quite an accomplishment to have four girls going to states," said Aycock head coach Brad Matthews. "Katie and Misty played the best against Rocky Mount's number ones that they have all year."
Gurley-Edwards launched play with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over D.H. Conley's Catherine Cary-Kate Ball. The Golden Falcon duo dropped Rocky mount's Elizabeth Thompson-Caroline Bell in the quarterfinals, and lost to Nash Central's Randi Price-Kaley Price in the semifinals.
Nash Central's Dana Kelly-Caley Bass beat Gurley-Edwards in the third-place match.
Barfield-Walker, the No. 2 seed, posted a first-round shutout over West Carteret's pair of Anna Jenkins-Charlotte Henry. The Aycock tandem eliminated Triton's Cailin Goff-Ansley Fennell in the quarterfinals and slipped past Kelly-Bass 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals.
The Price sisters handed Barfield-Walker their fourth defeat of the season.
" Brooke and Ashton struggled just a little ... not as aggressive as they should have been," said Matthews. "They didn't attack and played a singles match in doubles, but I'm still proud of them to finish second in the regionals."
Aycock's twosome of Brittany Parrish-Caroline Bone stumbled in the first round.
The Warriors' Sutton, the Eastern Carolina Conference singles champion, easily ousted Jacksonville's Sara Ingraham 6-0, 6-0 in the first round. She beat Northern Nash's Katie Beeman in the second round and stopped Rocky Mount's McKenzie Warner 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals.
South Brunswick's Summer Phillips topped Sutton in the finals.
Senior Grace Delbridge eliminated Southern Wayne senior Michala Best in the first round and took out Cleveland's Amber Reese in the quarterfinals. Delbridge fell to Phillips in the semifinals, but rebounded to defeat Warner 6-4, 6-2 in the third-place match.
Eastern Wayne (14-4 overall) returns home Tuesday for a match against Rocky Mount in the NCHSAA dual-team playoffs. First serve is 4 p.m. at Herman Park.
1-A East
Spring Creek's Heather Frey and Emily Daniel advanced to the final eight in the NCHSAA 1-A eastern regional singles contested at Herman Park.
Frey defeated Riverside's Emmy Smith in the first round, but lost to eventual regional runner-up Krissy O'Brien of Lejeune. Daniel dispatched Riverside's Sarah Modlin in the first round, and dropped a straight-set decision to eventual regional champion Alice Huang of N.C. School of Science and Math.
The Gators' tandem of Katlyn Casey-Jordan Cook suffered a first-round loss to Red Springs in doubles.
"It wasn't meant to be," said Spring Creek head coach Beverly Boltinhouse. "The singles could not have played any better. They just got a bad draw. (But) it was refreshing to see them out there smiling and loving to play. They were out there doing their best and enjoying it."
North Duplin's duo of Selena Quintanilla-Casey Thornton advanced to the quarterfinals, but lost to NCSSM. Senior Lea Taylor, the Carolina Conference singles champion, retired in her second-round match.
Spring Creek (9-1) entertains Lejeune in a second-round NCHSAA dual-team match Tuesday. Play begins at 3:45 p.m.