Dealing with the elements has been a common refrain for all spring sports across Hillsborough lately. On Monday, just hours before the tennis match between Cedar Ridge and Orange, it was a pleasant day in the mid-80s. By the time the opening singles matches started, the winds had kicked up to 33-mile-per-hour gusts, which left players on both sides at Cedar Ridge Tennis Courts being forced to adjust. Senior Bryson Waters was the one who had to endure the longest. In the final singles match to finish, Waters outlasted Grady Coleman 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 in a 10-point tiebreaker. That victory put Orange ahead 4-2 in single matches and the Panthers would defeat the Red Wolves 6-5 to sweep the season series. It was Waters and Jackson Coleman who got the lone doubles win for Orange, beating Coleman and Oliver Rodgers 8-1 to secure the dual match. Senior Jackson Coleman also earned two wins on the day. He defeated Rodgers 6-1, 6-1 in singles action. Zachary Cole and Thomas Foster also claimed singles wins for the Panthers. Orange has won two straight matches, counting its victory over Roxboro Community School on Friday. On Wednesday, they will travel to Graham to face Southern Alamance. Orange is 4-3-1 with a match against Durham School of the Arts still waiting to be completed after it was suspended due to darkness on March 11.
