R.J. REYNOLDS WINS THIRD NCHSAA MEN’S DUAL TEAM TENNIS TITLE;
GIBBONS, SHELBY, HENDERSONVILLE ALSO TAKE CROWNS
BURLINGTON — Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds notched its third consecutive North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4-A state championship in the 22nd annual state men’s dual team finals at the Burlington Tennis Center on Saturday.
In the 4-A championship, R.J. Reynolds defeated Raleigh Wakefield 5-0 in a match that was much closer than the score would indicate. Three of the five completed singles matches split sets, but each time the Reynolds player won the decisive tiebreaker.
Jack Riazzi, the number-three singles players for Reynolds, was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship.
Wakefield, in its first dual team final ever, finished 19-2 overall while R.J. Reynolds wound up 21-1.
Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons won its sixth NCHSAA dual team title, downing Waxhaw Marvin Ridge 5-2 for the 3-A title.
The Crusaders (24-4) took four of the six singles and then the number-two doubles team of Matt Galush and Pierce Beary won their match to clinch the title.
Matt Daly of Cardinal Gibbons, who was the state runner-up in singles to four-time champion Kyle Johnson of Charlotte Catholic last weekend in the individual tournament, won his match at number-one singles in straight sets. Galush, who also won at the number three singles, was the championship MVP.
Marvin Ridge finished the season with a 19-2 record.
Shelby captured four of the five singles victories in straight sets as the Golden Lions topped Carrboro 5-1 for the 2-A championship.
Ray Webb Parker, who advanced to the semifinals of the individual tournament last weekend and won in a tiebreaker at number-one singles in the dual team finals, was selected as the championship Most Valuable Player.
Shelby finished with a perfect 22-0 mark while Carrboro, which qualified for the championship with a Friday regional win over Hampstead Topsail, ended the year at 19-4.
Hendersonville, in the finals for the fifth time, earned its third 1-A dual team title with a 5-1 victory over Raleigh Charter, sweeping to victory in the first five singles matches. However, some of them were very competitive as three of the matches split sets and went to tiebreakers.
Hendersonville’s Jacob Fuqua, the 1-A state singles runner-up last weekend and winner at Saturday’s number-one singles, was the match MVP. The Bearcats completed an unbeaten season at 19-0.
Raleigh Charter, which defeated the North Carolina School for Science and Math on Friday afternoon to advance to the finals, lost for only the second time in 17 matches.
NORTH CAROLINA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 22nd ANNUAL DUAL TEAM TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Burlington Tennis Center, Burlington
SATURDAY’S RESULTS
CLASS 4-A: WINSTON-SALEM R.J. REYNOLDS 5, RALEIGH WAKEFIELD 0
SINGLES: Chad Hoskins (RJR) led Bo Boyden 6-3, 5-6 when match halted with outcome decided; Oliver Otero (RJR) def. Jensen Martin 6-3, 6-3; Jack Riazzi (RJR) def. Andrew Belonga 6-4, 6-1; Paul Yamane (RJR) def. Andrew Swaim 4-6, 6-1, (14-12); Nick McDaniel (RJR) def. Brad Land 6-3, 3-6, (10-2); Avery Hale (RJR) def. Nick Portera 6-4, 3-6, (10-8).
DOUBLES: not played with outcome decided.
CLASS 3-A: RALEIGH CARDINAL GIBBONS 5, WAXHAW MARVIN RIDGE 2
SINGLES: Matt Daly (CG) def. Joey Hatala 6-0, 6-2; Killian Steer (CG) def. Brett Ward 6-2, 6-1; Matt Galush (CG) def. Cullen Kelleher 6-0, 6-1; Pierce Beary (CG) def. Woody Watson 6-1, 5-7, (10-6); Bobby Hatala (MR) def Zack Blondell 6-3, 6-2; Mike Ruocco (MR) def. Matt Dixon 6-0, 6-2.
DOUBLES: Daly-Steer (CG) led J. Hatala-Kelleher 7-2 when match halted with outcome decided; Galush-Beary (CG) def. Ward-Watson 10-3; B. Hatala-Ruocco (MR) led Blondell-Dixon 7-3 when match halted with outcome decided.
CLASS 2-A: SHELBY 5, CARRBORO 1
SINGLES: Ray Webb Parker (S) def. Max Fritsch 6-2, 6-7(5), (12-10); Dennis Beam (S) def. Braden Karrigan 6-2, 6-1; Will Lutz (S) def. Josh Green 6-1, 7-5; Miles Poage (S) def. Aaron Hiller 6-2, 6-0; Joseph Hendrick (S) def. Hans Singh 6-0, 6-4; Terek Zikr (C) def. Alex Tillman 6-1, 6-0.
DOUBLES: not played with outcome decided.
CLASS 1-A: HENDERSONVILLE 5, RALEIGH CHARTER 1
SINGLES: Jacob Fuqua (H) def. Jonathan Tseng 6-3, 6-1; Bracklin Kirkland (H) def. Houston Parks 5-7, 6-1, (10-4); Charles Colhoun (H) def. Greg Ellis 3-6, 6-4, (10-6); Ben Brewer-Bowman (H) def Neeraj Suresh 6-1, 6-1; Cre Still (H) def. Charlie Lowe 6-3, 6-4; Jim Sims (RC) def. Konrad Sanders 5-7, 6-2, (12-10).
DOUBLES: not played with outcome decided.
