NCHSAA Singles, Doubles Championships Up For Grabs This Weekend In Girl’s Tennis

CHAPEL HILL – Championships in singles and doubles in four different classifications are up for grabs this weekend as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association holds its annual women’s tennis tournament championships at four different sites.

Semifinalists in both singles and doubles at the regional level qualify for the state championships.

The 4-A championships are scheduled for the Millbrook Exchange Park in Raleigh, while the 3-A event will be held at the Burlington Parks and Recreation Tennis Center. The 2-A and 1-A championships are both set for the Cary Tennis Center.

Action will get underway in most classifications on Friday morning with the opening round of play at 9 a.m. Two rounds will be played on Friday, with the semifinals Saturday morning and the championship matches on Saturday afternoon. Since the field is smaller for the 1-A tournament, the only Saturday matches will be the championships Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

Defending 4-A singles champion Maggie Kane of Raleigh Broughton is back to defend her title, although she was finished second in the Mideast Regional to Wakefield’s Suzanne Boyden. Sammi Smith and Jordan Strickland of Cary Panther Creek, who won the 4-A doubles crown last year, will be seeking their second straight championship.

Fayetteville Terry Sanford qualified two singles players and two doubles teams into the 3-A championship. Sarah Jiang of Concord Cox Mill, last year’s singles runner-up, is also back in the field.

In 2-A, both defending state champions have qualified, including Nancy Bridges of Shelby in singles and the doubles duo of Emma McLeod and Taylor Snowden of Brevard. Bridges lost in the Western Regional final to Cassidy Shell of Catawba Bandys.

Libby Fowler and Brooke Herlocker of Misenheimer Gray Stone Day are back to seek their second consecutive state 1-A doubles title, although the Gray Stone team lost to Davi Barbour and Haley Thomas of Mount Airy in the regional finals, by 6-3, 6-3. Last year Fowler and Herlocker downed Barbour and Thomas for the state title.

More tennis finals are scheduled for next week, as all four classes of the women’s dual team tennis championships will be November 3 at the Burlington Tennis Center.

NCHSAA FastFacts
Event: NCHSAA Women’s Tennis Tournament Championships
Date: October 25-26, 2013
Site: 1-A: Cary Tennis Center; 2-A: Cary Tennis Center; 3-A: Burlington Parks and Recreation Tennis Center; 4-A: Millbrook Exchange Park, Raleigh
First Held: 1970
Qualifiers: Semifinalists in both singles and doubles at the regional level qualify for the state events
Of Interest: Laura Cowman of Charlotte Catholic (1989-92), Julianne Treme of Salisbury (1993-96), Jackie Houston of Kings Mountain (1993-96), Britney Cloer of Brevard and then West Henderson (2003-06) are all four-time NCHSAA women’s singles champions.