BURLINGTON – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 25th annual state men’s dual team tennis championships will come to the Burlington Tennis Center on Saturday, and some very familiar names have earned their ways back to the finals.
Six of the eight schools qualifying for the championship played for the title a year ago and two of the final matches are repeats of the 2014 matchups.
All four classification championships are scheduled for Saturday, with the 2-A and 4-A classifications starting at 9:30 a.m. and then the 1-A and 3-A beginning at 12:30 p.m.
In the 2-A championship, Brevard (16-0) will take on Carrboro (14-2) for the second year in a row. Carrboro prevailed 6-0 a year ago and was the second-place finisher in the 2-A tournament in 2012 and ’13.
Brevard is in the finals for the third time, with appearances in 2006 and last year. Joseph Schrader of Brevard was the state singles runner-up last weekend, and the doubles team of Andy McCall and Joe Roberts got to the state semifinals. Carrboro will counter with Max Fritsch and Jake Zinn, who combined to win the doubles title for the second consecutive year and beat Carrboro teammates Jason Wykoff and Sean Ross in the finals.
The other championship at 9:30 is for the 4-A title, sending Greensboro Page against the defending champion, unbeaten Raleigh Wakefield (20-0).
Wakefield is in the finals for the third time in the last four years, with a runner-up finish in 2012 to go with last year’s title. The Wakefield doubles duo of Bo Boyden and Jensen Martin won the state 4-A title last weekend, and Boyden had previously won the singles championship in ’14 and was runner-up the year before that.
Page’s Michael Bass qualified for the state tournament in singles and the doubles team of Jack Oldis and Henry Enochs got to the state semifinals before losing to Boyden and Martin.
The 12:30 pm match in the 3-A classification is another rematch, as Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (22-4) plays undefeated Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (17-0).
Marvin Ridge players occupied three of the four slots in the state semifinals last weekend in singles and doubles, and the state championship in doubles was an all-Marvin Ridge affair won by Hayden Wohlfarth and Woody Watson. Matt Galush of Cardinal Gibbons won the 3-A singles title and beat George Lovitt of Marvin Ridge for the championship.
The Crusaders of Gibbons have captured the last four 3-A dual team championships.
The other 12:30 final is for the 1-A championship, with Raleigh Charter (10-0) while in the West btttling Mooresville Pine Lake Prep (12-1).
Pine Lake Prep is in the finals for the first time and is led by Max Vicario, the 1-A singles champion. Raleigh Charter, in the finals for the third time in the last four years but still seeking its initial state dual team title, sports this year’s state doubles champs, Harrison Tseng and Joseph Fisher.
The North Carolina Tennis Foundation is one of the event sponsors of the championship.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
25th ANNUAL DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Class 1-A: Raleigh Charter (10-0) vs. Mooresville Pine Lake Prep (12-1), 12:30 pm
Class 2-A: Brevard (16-0) vs. Carrboro (13-1), 9:30 a.m.
Class 3-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (22-4) vs. Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (17-0), 12:30 pm
Class 4-A: Raleigh Wakefield (20-0) vs. Greensboro Page (14-1)
NCHSAA FastFacts
Date: Saturday, May 16,2015
Site: Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
First Held: 1991
Qualifiers: Eastern and Western champions meet for state title; 32 schools qualified for playoffs in each classification except 1-A (24)
Defending champions: 1-A: Bishop McGuinness; 2-A: Carrboro; 3-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons; 4-A: Raleigh Wakefield
Of Interest: Six of the eight schools in the NCHSAA championship this year played in the final matches a year ago.