Greene Central’s undefeated season ends in first round of dual team state playoffs
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SNOW HILL — The Greene Central varsity girls tennis team’s undefeated season ended on Tuesday as the visitors, Carrboro, took them down in the first round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, 5-4.
The Rams (16-1) knew they got a tough draw with the Jaguars (9-4), who finished third in the 2-A Mid-State. Greene Central head coach Tim Medlin compared having to face Carrboro to a team in the NCAA basketball tournament being the bigger seed having to face the third place team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“This is a team we would expect to face in the east final or minimum the quarterfinal,” Medlin said. “Tough draw for them and us.”
Carrboro’s top two players, Lauren Badour and Ella Stricker, are expected to be contenders for the 2-A singles state title so Medlin felt they needed to win courts 3-6. The Rams lost court one 6-0, 6-1 and court two 6-0, 6-0 in the first 45 minutes. But Hinson Britt took court four, 6-0, 6-0 15 minutes later. 15 minutes after that Kaylee Hill took court six, 6-2, 6-2, while the Rams dropped court three, 6-2, 6-3. Venancia Miller finished singles by winning 6-1, 6-2 to tie the match at 3.
Greene Central got a strong performance from Miller and Sid Ramsey, who won 8-2 quickly. But on court two, Britt and Kaylee Tucker were downed 8-1 shortly after. All eyes turned to court one where McKinsey Harper and Kristen Colie were battling back from being down 5-2. The pair were able to close the gap to 7-6, but dropped the next set.
“That’s the way tennis goes sometimes,” Medlin said. “My girls fought their tales off. We knew we’d were going to have a tough time with their horses at the top and I thought the bottom of our lineup played brilliantly, which is what we had to have to have a shot. We just came up short.”
Medlin is sad to see the season over but he noted the fact that the Rams won the Wilson Cup to start the season which was a first in program history and the first time a 2-A team had done it in the tournament’s history. Medlin also said it was the first undefeated regular season in program history and the team won the program’s 26th straight conference tournament. With no seniors on the team, Medlin said he is excited for next year.
“The thing that was special about this team is it wasn’t expected yet,” Medlin said. “There’s a lot to be excited about with all those girls coming back as well as one girl from the middle school who hasn’t lost all year. We expect to be a different team next year, even though it’s the same people. That’s what I just told the girls, don’t come back the same team, come back the same players but a lot better.”