NCHSAA STATE DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR BURLINGTON ON SATURDAY
BURLINGTON – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s 19th annual state men’s dual team tennis championships will come to the Burlington Tennis Center on Saturday, with some familiar powers in tennis once again competing for state titles.
All four classification championships are scheduled for Saturday, with the 1-A and 2-A classifications starting at 9 a.m. and then the 3-A and 4-A to begin at noon. Most of the teams qualifying for the finals advanced with victories in the state semifinal round on Thursday.
Raleigh Millbrook has marched into the 4-A dual team finals for the third time but first trip since 2000 as the Wildcats (21-0) will take on Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-2). Millbrook knocked off eight-time state champion Raleigh Broughton in the quarterfinals and then ousted Wilmington Hoggard 9-0 on Thursday.
Reynolds is in the finals for the first time and defeated last year’s runner-up, Charlotte Ardrey Kell, 5-1 on Thursday.
Among Millbrook’s leaders are Sean Weber and Quinn Carmean, who teamed to win the state 4-A doubles crown in last week’s tournament, while Robbie Mudge of R.J. Reynolds captured the singles title.
The 3-A final sends unbeaten Southern Nash (20-0) into the finals for the second consecutive year, this time against Lake Norman (19-3). Lake Norman nipped defending champion Charlotte Catholic 5-4 in the regional final Thursday while Southern Nash downed Pikeville Charles B. Aycock 5-2.
Trey McKee of Lake Norman was the 3-A singles state runner-up last weekend.
Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (24-2) and the Red Devils of Newton-Conover (20-1) will battle it out for the 2-A title in for the third year in a row. Gibbons is seeking its fourth consecutive state dual team championship.
Matt Daly and Greg Galush of Gibbons each got to the state 2-A singles semifinals before losing and Jonathan Fedorkowicz teamed with Chris Geaslen to beat another Gibbons team for the doubles title. The Newton-Conover pair of Hang Lak Choi and Won Lak Choi made it to the state doubles semifinals.
The 1-A championship pits Mount Airy (15-2) against Raleigh Charter (15-4). Raleigh Charter is in the finals for the first time while Mount Airy captured crowns in 2005 and ’06. Nick John and Brooks Mayberry of Mount Airy earned the state 1-A doubles title last weekend.
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
19th ANNUAL DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Class 1-A: Raleigh Charter (15-4) vs. Mount Airy (15-2), 9 am
Class 2-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (24-2) vs. Newton-Conover (20-1), 9 am
Class 3-A: Southern Nash (20-0) vs. Lake Norman (19-3), noon
Class 4-A: Raleigh Millbrook (21-0) vs. Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (20-2), noon
NCHSAA FastFacts
Date: May 23, 2009
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 (16)
Defending champions: 1-A: Durham North Carolina School of Science and Math; 2-A: Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons; 3-A: Charlotte Catholic; 4-A: East Chapel Hill
Of Interest: A total of 43 different schools have played for the state title in the previous 18 years of this championship.
Presenting Sponsors: Wendy’s
