Warriors rebound quickly to whip Wildcats

A day after South Johnston ended its winning streak at four matches, the Hunt High girls tennis team looked to start another streak Wednesday, Sept. 4, against West Johnston with a 7-2 win over the Wildcats.

“The girls really played great,” said first-year head coach Bentley Blount. “We suffered a tough loss (Tuesday) to South Johnston and they used it as fuel for today. I loved the resiliency and patience we showed. I am proud of everyone.”

The host Warriors, now 4-2 overall and in 3-A Quad County Conference play, completely dominated the top four singles slots. Reagan Owens, Callie Mooring, Emma Reel and Darby Davis all won their respective Nos. 1-4 matches by 6-0, 6-0 scores. But the gritty performance of the day for the Warriors came from senior Amy Hernandez scrambled to a three-set win at No. 6 singles after losing the first set 6-1. She fought to a 7-5 win in the second set before winning the third-set tiebreaker 10-6 against West Johnston’s Elly Jens.

“Amy really showed her game today and pushed through and won,” saind Blount.

Owens-Mooring then claimed its No. 1 doubles match 8-0 while Reel-Davis won 8-2 at No. 2.

The Wildcats (0-4, 0-4 QCC) picked up wins at No. 5 singles and No. 3 doubles.

For a team that had to replace more than half its graduated starters from the 2023 edition, Hunt has kept itself poised for potential top-three finish in the QCC again.

Blount praised the two players at the top of his lineup, Owens and Mooring.

“Through the leadership Reagan and Callie show day in and day out, they have made coaching easier because they push their teammates to be better and I love it,” he said. “This season is going good and I just want the girls to continue having fun and seeing their hard work pay off.”

Hunt will get its first shot at archrival Fike this season when the Warriors host the three-time Quad County-champion Golden Demons on Monday, Sept. 9, before welcoming C.B. Aycock on Wednesday in matches against the two teams directly above it in the standings. The Warriors close out the busy week with a nonconference match Thursday at North Johnston.

HUNT 7, WEST JOHNSTON 2

Reagan Owens (H) def. Bella Drown 6-0, 6-0; Callie Mooring (H) def. Nadia Barnes 6-0, 6-0; Emma Reel (H) def. Olivia Byrd 6-0, 6-0; Darby Davis (H) def. Iris Duran 6-0, 6-0; Deliah Gomez (WJ) def. Ella Marks 4-6, 1-6; Amy Hernandez (H) def. Elly Jens 1-6, 7-5, (10-6).

Owens-Mooring (H) def. Barnes-Byrd 8-0; Reel-Davis (H) def. Drown-Jens 8-2; Ryley Brinkley-Savannah Hall (WJ) def. Hernandez-Elena Summerlin 8-2.

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