22nd ANNUAL NCHSAA DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SATURDAY; CARRBORO, RALEIGH CHARTER QUALIFY
BURLINGTON – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 22nd annual state men’s dual team tennis championships will come to the Burlington Tennis Center on Saturday.
All four classification championships are scheduled for Saturday, with the 3-A and 4-A classifications starting at 10 a.m. and then the 2-A and 3-A beginning at 1 p.m. Two of the classifications didn’t have the participants set as of Friday morning because as rain has delayed two of the regional matches in 2-A and 1-A.
In the 4-A championship, two-time defending champion Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-1) will take on Raleigh Wakefield (19-1), which is making its first trip into the state finals.
In regional action, Wakefield downed perennial power Raleigh Broughton, which was seeking a record 13th appearance in the championship, by a 5-3 score while Reynolds downed Charlotte Ardrey Kell 5-1.
The doubles team of Chad Hoskins and Paul Yamane of R.J. Reynolds won the state 4-A championship last weekend.
The 3-A final pairs five-time champion Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (23-4) against Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (18-2). Gibbons ousted Northern Nash 5-1 in the regionals while Marvin Ridge got past Asheville 5-2.
Matt Daly of Gibbons was state runner-up in singles to four-time champion Kyle Johnson of Charlotte Catholic last weekend, and the Gibbons team of Killian Steer and Matt Galush lost in the state semifinals.
Marvin Ridge’s qualifiers to the state event included Joey Hatala in singles and the doubles pair of Bobby Hatala and Woody Watson. The Marvin Ridge players lost in the state quarterfinals.
The 2-A championship at 1 p.m will send unbeaten Shelby (22-0) against Carrboro (19-3), which beat Topsail 5-2 on Friday afternoon in the Eastern final. Shelby beat Black Mountain Charles D. Owen 6-0 in the regionals and earlier eliminated two-time defending champion Newton-Conover.
Shelby is led by Ray Webb Parker, who advanced to the semifinals of the individual tournament last weekend, and the Golden Lion doubles team of Miles Poage and Joseph Hendrick also got to the semifinals.
In the 1-A final, unbeaten Hendersonville (17-0) will battle Raleigh Charter, which got past the North Carolina School of Science and Math on Friday afternoon. Hendersonville is in the dual team finals for the fifth time.
Hendersonville’s Jacob Fuqua was the 1-A singles runner-up last weekend and the doubles team of Brackin Kirkland and Charles Colhoun also finished as the state runners-up.
The North Carolina Tennis Foundation is one of the event sponsors of the championship.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
22nd ANNUAL DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Class 1-A: Hendersonville (17-0) vs. Raleigh Charter (15-1), 1 pm
Class 2-A: Carrboro (19-3) vs. Shelby (22-0), 1 pm
Class 3-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (22-4) vs. Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (18-2), 10 am
Class 4-A: Raleigh Wakefield (19-1) vs. Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-1), 10 am
NCHSAA FastFacts
Date: Saturday, May 21, 2012
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: Kernersville Bishop McGuinness; 2-A: Newton-Conover; 3-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons; 4-A: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds
Of Interest: A total of 47 different schools have played for the state title in the previous 21 years of this championship, with Raleigh Broughton leading the way with 12 trips to the finals.
