There’s something about playing Western Alamance that brings out something extra for Orange women’s tennis.
Last year, the Lady Panthers defeated the Warriors 7-2 as senior Kyla Mehl had a singles match that went three hours and 15 minutes. Mehl was finishing her match just as the other doubles matches for the night ended.
Last Thursday, Orange became the first team to beat the Warriors this season. Junior Kalynn Mason won the top singles match to pave the way to a 7-2 win.
With the victory, Orange took another step towards reaching the 5A State Dual Team playoffs. Last year, the Lady Panthers reached the round of 16 after victories over Southern Nash and Wilson Hunt.
In Elon, Mason defeated Camden Markey 6-3, 6-2. Senior Ellie Wilson of Orange defeated Abigail Stimpson 6-2, 6-4. Western Alamance tied the match after Fiona Deng won the #3 singles match over Davia Coyle 6-2, 7-5. At #4 singles, the Warriors Morgan Cook defeated Cadence Sayed 6-1, 6-1.
Orange’s Lucy Frank took the marathon match of the night to give the Lady Panthers the advantage. Frank got past Meegan Weaver 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 10-6 in a third set, 10-point tiebreaker.
In the final singles match, Orange junior Samantha Gover defeated Rebekah Cuevas 6-1, 6-1.
On Monday night, Orange returned home and defeated Durham School of the Arts 5-0 in a match that was shortened because of a heavy thunderstorm that erupted at around 6:40PM. With the victory over the Bulldogs, the Lady Panthers swept the season series. Last year, Durham School of the Arts defeated Orange in the round of 16 in the state playoffs.
Orange is now 12-3 overall, 7-3 in the Big 7 Conference. It’s good enough for third place behind defending 4A State Champion Carrboro, who leads the conference with a 9-0 mark, and second place Seaforth.
The Lady Panthers will celebrate senior night against Southeast Alamance on Thursday night. Wilson, Frank and Ebelyn Pacheco will be honored before the match.
The team record for most wins in a season is held by the 2022 Lady Panthers, which tied with Walter Williams for a share of the Central Conference championship. The 2022 Orange team finished 19-3.
