Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011

Falcons down Enloe

Green Hope into 2nd round

The courts that Green Hope's girls tennis team play on this season allow coach Beth Hedgepeth to stand in a middle walkway and view all six singles matches, three on each side.

No matter which side she watched Wednesday, she saw her Falcons players winning points at a rapid rate.

All six Green Hope singles players won in straight sets, clinching the match with a 6-0 victory against Enloe in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs.

"The girls deserve to be where they are this season," Hedgepeth said. "It's nice to sweep and feel confident going into round two."

The first match completed was on court No. 1, where Audrey Channell downed Roja Garimela 6-1, 6-0.

Not long afterward, Green Hope picked up a win at No. 6 singles when Brantley Belk defeated Emilie Kadhim 6-1, 6-2.

Amelia Channell - Audrey's twin sister - downed Rebecca Liu 6-2, 6-1 and Jurasia Horvat defeated Anna Xu 6-2, 6-1. Priyanka Srinivas clinched the match by defeating Rachell Xu - Anna's twin sister - 6-3, 6-0.

The last winner on the day was the Falcons' only senior, Helen Wang. Wang, who has been a part of four straight conference championship teams, defeated Elizabeth Sigarto 6-3, 6-1.

The Falcons will host Fayetteville's Jack Britt High in next Tuesday's second round.

Enloe, which ended its year at 13-4 overall, has high hopes for the future. Four of the Eagles' six singles players on Tuesday were freshmen. Enloe started five freshmen for most of the season.

"I was really pleased with how the girls performed," said Enloe coach Brei Buzek. "We've got a very young team, a very talented team. I'm very excited to see what the next couple of years bring for us."

PC, Gibbons move on: The only other Tri-Nine team to make this year's 4A state playoffs was Panther Creek. The Catamounts had little trouble playing at Greater Neuse River Conference champ Clayton, defeating the Comets 6-0.

Panther Creek will play at Wilmington Hoggard on Tuesday.

In the 3A playoffs, Cardinal Gibbons downed Western Harnett 9-0 and will host Northern Guilford next.