Lady Raiders take one match in loss at Pinecrest

SOUTHERN PINES — Facing another tough opponent Thursday, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ tennis team couldn’t break into the win column.

Two days after dropping their season opener, the Lady Raiders suffered their second defeat in the early going.

Playing on the road at Pinecrest High School, the Sandhills Athletic Conference’s reigning champion, Richmond came up short in an 8-1 loss.

“We typically struggle at the beginning of the season because of the two teams we have to play right out of the gate,” head coach Jessica Covington said. “Playing Southern Lee and Pinecrest present a challenge, but at the same time gives us a chance to see where we need to improve.

“We have a lot of talent this season, we just have to work out some small things to get on track,” she continued. “I’m proud of the girls’ effort today. It was great to see Hanna (Smith) and Jentry (Denson) get a doubles win against quality opponents.”

The Lady Raiders’ lone victory came courtesy of Smith and Denson, a senior-junior duo working together for the first time this season in doubles play.

Facing Pinecrest’s No. 7 Mollie Grafenberg and No. 8 Camerson Groner in the No. 1 doubles match, Smith and Denson notched an 8-5 victory. It was the duo’s first double’s win this season.

In the other two doubles matches, Richmond lost by match 8-5 scores.

The No. 2 team of senior Madison Grimes and sophomore Colbie Covingto fell to McKinley Graham and Sophie Chalker, while the No. 3 pairing of seniors Kenleigh Parker and Ava Thompson came up short against Natalia Bern and Morgan Wathen.

No. 1 Smith had the best outing for the Lady Raiders in singles action, pushing Pinecrest’s top player Livia Pratt to a tie-breaker.

After falling behind 0-6 in the first game, Smith stormed back to tie the match with a 6-1 victory in the second. In the tie-breaker, Pratt edged Smith 11-9.

Registering a set win in their matches were No. 2 Denson and No. 4 Covington. Both contests went final at 6-0, 6-1 in favor of Dylan Macrae and Pearl Hage.

Three Lady Raiders were shutout 6-0, 6-0 in their respective singles match — No. 3 Grimes against Maddie Mathis, No. 5 Parker to Gabby Hooper and No. 6 Thompson in her match with Brooke Greenblatt.

The Lady Raiders (0-2, 0-2 SAC) will continue conference action at home Tuesday with a doubleheader against Hoke County High School (0-3, 0-2 SAC). Singles matches will begin at 4 p.m.