The Orange women’s tennis team continues to make history in Wilson.
In 2021, the Lady Panthers won its first dual team state playoff match with a victory over Fike in Wilson.
On Monday, Orange reached the state quarterfinals for the first time ever by beating Hunt.
The Lady Panthers took five singles matches, including a victory by junior Ellie Wilson, to defeat the Warriors 5-1. Orange advances to the round of eight, where they will face Big 7 Conference rival Durham School of the Arts. It’s the first time ever that Orange has won two state playoff matches in the same year.
The Orange women’s tennis program started in 1981 under head coach Lynn James. Current head coach Justin Webb won the first state playoff match in program history in 2021. Since then, Orange has won five playoff matches in the last five years, including sharing the 2022 Central Conference championship with Walter Williams, the only league title in program history.
Orange improved to 15-5. They now have the third-highest amount of team wins during a season in school history, behind the 2022 (17) and 2021 (16) teams.
Orange won the opening three singles matches to take control of the match. All of the Lady Panther seniors captured wins, starting with Molly Kruse defeating Darby Davis 6-1, 6-2. Casey Robinson won at #4 singles over Ella Marks 6-0, 6-1. Adelyn Alvis earned her second playoff win in as many weeks, beating Katie Nguyen 6-1, 6-3.
Senior Kyla Mehl knocked off Tate Misback 6-0, 6-1.
At #2 singles, junior Ellie Wilson secured the dual match win for Orange, beating Emma Reel in one of two matches that required a third set, 10-point tiebreaker. Wilson won 6-2, 5-7, 10-1.
Hunt’s only victory came in the top singles match where Callie Mooring defeated Orange’s Kalynn Mason 2-6, 6-2, 10-6.
Orange defeated Southern Nash in Hillsborough during the round of 32 last week. It was the second time that Orange hosted a state playoff match.
Durham School of the Arts defeated Wilson Fike, the #1 seed in the Eastern Region, 6-0 on Monday.
The quarterfinal match on Wednesday will be the third matchup between Orange and DSA this year. Orange finished a match that was rained out against the Bulldogs on October 3 at Cedar Ridge High School. The Bulldogs won the completed match 7-2, then won a regularly scheduled match 5-1.
In the other end of the bracket are Seaforth and Western Alamance. The Hawks are currently a conference rival to Orange while the Warriors were a former Central Conference rival. Orange has defeated both Seaforth and Western Alamance this year.
