BURLINGTON – The 26th annual North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championships in women’s dual team tennis will be held this weekend, but not on the originally scheduled day in a tournament which has been hampered by rain.
Because of the forecast for inclement weather all day on Saturday, the four finals are being moved to Sunday afternoon. The 1-A and 3-A finals will be played at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center at Elon University, while the 2-A and 4-A championships are set for the Burlington Tennis Center.
The NCHSAA Board of Directors has given the Association authority to play state championships on Sundays in circumstances such as this when bad weather forces postponements.
All four state championships will start at 1 pm Sunday afternoon, but the matchups are not finalized yet with several regional matches which were postponed scheduled to be played Friday.
At Elon, the 1-A state title will be decided between unbeaten Raleigh Charter (13-0) and the winner of the Western final between Mount Airy (23-2) and Kernersville Bishop McGuiness (16-3). Raleigh Charter is in the championship match for the third time but is still seeking its first women’s dual team title.
The other match at Elon is for the 3-A title, as Cameron Union Pines (14-1) will take on the Western survivor of a match between Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (15-3) and Weddington (12-6).
Union Pines is in the finals for the first time since 2006, when it lost in the championship match to Hickory. Mary Beth Jackson and Hailee Haymore of Union Pines won the state 2-A doubles title last week.
The 2-A finals at the Burlington Tennis Center will send the Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math (12-0), which beat Carrboro in a Thursday regional final, against the winner of the Western regional final between Lake Norman Charter (16-0) and perennial power Salisbury (15-1).
NCSSM makes its eighth trip to the finals— including five in a row at one stretch in two different classifications– and has three previous state championships.
If Salisbury were to get the championship, it would be the 14th trip for the Hornets, who have qualified for the title match second only to Broughton’s 16 visits to the final.
The 4-A crown will be decided when Cary Panther Creek (20-0) plays the winner of the Western final between Charlotte Myers Park (14-0) and Ardrey Kell (9-3).
Panther Creek is in the finals for the third time with two previous state titles. Sammi Smith and Jordan Strickland of Panther Creek have teamed to win the last four 4-A doubles championships, only the second time in NCHSAA history that has occurred.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
26th Annual Women’s Dual Team Tennis Championships
Sunday’s Schedule
Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, Elon University
1-A championship: Raleigh Charter (14-0) vs. Kernersville Bishop McGuinness (16-3) or Mount Airy (23-2), 1 pm
3-A championship: Cameron Union Pines (15-1) vs. Waxhaw Marvin Ridge (15-3) or Weddington (12-6), 1 pm
Burlington Tennis Center
2-A championship: Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math (12-0) vs. Lake Norman Charter (16-0) or Salisbury (15-1), 1 pm
4-A championship: Cary Panther Creek (20-0) vs. Charlotte Ardrey Kell (9-3) or Charlotte Myers Park (15-0), 1 pm