21st ANNUAL NCHSAA DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS ON SATURDAY IN BURLINGTON
BURLINGTON – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 21st 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 1-A and 2-A classifications starting at 10 a.m. and then the 3-A and 4-A beginning at 1 p.m.. The teams qualifying for the finals advanced with victories in the state semifinal round on Thursday.
There is one match still pending in the regionals at the 1-A level, as Kernersville Bishop McGuinness will play Gastonia Highland Tech today. The winner will face Durham’s North Carolina School of Science and Math for the 1-A title.
Perennial power East Chapel Hill (19-1) marches into the 4-A dual team finals for the 12th time, with eight previous state titles and the last one in 2008. The Wildcats will take on Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-1).
Robbie Mudge of R.J. Reynolds won the singles championship for the second time in the last three years in last weekend’s individual tournament, and the Reynolds doubles team of Paul Yamane and Jack Riazzi was the state runner-up. Reynolds is in the finals for the third consecutive year and beat Raleigh Broughton 5-4 in last year’s championship.
East Chapel Hill defeated Raleigh Millbrook 5-2 on Thursday while RJ. Reynolds blanked Charlotte Ardrey Kell 6-0 in its regional match.
The 3-A final pairs Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (25-2) against Charlotte Catholic (11-4). Catholic ousted defending 3-A champ Asheville 7-2 in a Thursday regional while Cardinal Gibbons was blanking Eastern Wayne 6-0.
A couple of state champions will be competing, Kyle Johnson of Charlotte Catholic won the singles title while Chris Geaslen and Killian Steer of Gibbons earned the doubles crown.
Defending champ Newton-Conover (24-2) will take on Durham School of the Arts (16-5) for the 2-A title. Newton-Conover downed Shelby 7-2 while DSA defeated Carrboro 5-1 in Thursday regional rounds.
The Red Devils of Newton-Conover have become a tennis power, as they are in the finals for the fifth consecutive time. Newton-Conover shut out Northwood 5-0 in last year’s final.
Two Newton-Conover doubles teams got to the state semifinals last weekend, Hang Lak Choi and Ryan Lampe along with Austin Adams and John Tate. Choi and Lampe teamed to win the state championship,
Unbeaten NCSSM (18-0) has already earned a berth in the 1-A finals, led by 1-A state singles champion Russell Turner. The Unicorns are making their fourth state championship appearance, with a title in 2008 and a runner-up finish last year to Mount Airy.
The North Carolina Tennis Foundation is one of the event sponsors of the championship. Wendy’s is the presenting sponsor of the NCHSAA sports program.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 21st ANNUAL DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Class 1-A: Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math (18-0) vs. Gastonia Highland Tech or Kernersville Bishop McGuinness, 10 am
Class 2-A: Durham School of the Arts (16-5) vs. Newton-Conover (24-2), 10 am
Class 3-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (25-2) vs. Charlotte Catholic (11-4), 1 p.m.
Class 4-A: East Chapel Hill (19-1) vs. Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-1), 1 p.m.
NCHSAA FastFacts
Date: Saturday, May 21, 2011
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: Mount Airy; 2-A: Newton-Conover; 3-A: Asheville; 4-A: Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds
Of Interest: A total of 47 different schools have played for the state title in the previous 20 years of this championship, with Raleigh Broughton leading the way with 12 trips to the finals.
Presenting Sponsors: Wendy’s
