Noah Powers is trying something new this summer.
For the past three years, he has been with Cedar Ridge’s football program under former head coach Brent Bailey. When Bailey resigned last November, Powers wasn’t ready to leave Cedar Ridge, but he was ready for a new challenge.
So he decided to become Cedar Ridge’s new women’s tennis coach after the departure of Al Caltabiano.
In 2023, Powers was the offensive line coach for Red Wolf football. For the past two years, he was the video coordinator.
“I decided I was done with football when Coach Bailey left,” Powers said. “When I heard the tennis position was open, I talk to our athletic director (Emily Parker) about it. She thought I would be a great fit. It’s not so much about the sport. I didn’t want to get out of coaching, necessarily. Football is time consuming and you can get burnt out real quick. But coaching is something I wanted to continue doing.”
While Powers has never played nor coached tennis, he has taught plenty of players on Cedar Ridge’s team.
“It’s a sport that I’m relatively new to myself,” Powers said. “I didn’t play but I’ve been studying up on it. I feel like I’m in a good spot now to coach effectively.”
Last season, the Red Wolves finished 10-9 and reached the 2nd round of the 5A State Dual Team Playoffs after beating St. Paul’s 6-0 in the opening round. The Red Wolves return their top singles player in Jasmin Brown, who defeated Yareli Gabinolopez of St. Mary’s in the playoff win 6-0, 6-2. Brown also earned a win in the second round of the state playoffs, defeating Kensley Gasaway of Western Alamance 6-4, 6-3 in Elon. The Warriors would go on to win the dual match 6-1.
Brown plays throughout the year at Hollow Rock Racquet and Swim Club along the Durham-Orange County line. She led Cedar Ridge in singles victories last year, finishing the season with four consecutive wins. She also teamed with Lydia Bordelon for a doubles win in a season-opening victory over Southern Alamance.
“Jasmin will be huge for us this year,” Powers said. “She’s been a big help in reaching out to former players and just trying to bring this group together. She’s been a big leader for me.”
Senior Madeline Galindo-Woodring, a starting centerfielder in softball, also returns for another tennis season. Galindo-Woodring, a three-sport athlete who has also played basketball, won eleven overall matches in 2025. She defeated Alexia Munoz Rodriguez of St. Pauls 6-0, 6-1 for her first postseason victory.
Bordelon, who started consistently as a freshman last season, also returns. In 2025, Bordelon won seven singles matches, including her first varsity match against Cherish Ray of Southern Alamance 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a 10-point tiebreaker. She defeated Kimberly Dejesus Hernandez of St. Pauls 6-0, 6-0.
The Red Wolves also have three returning singles starters in juniors Lucinda Smylie and Phoebe Lund along with senior Sarah Grace Dock. The only regular seniors who played last year were Caroline Hall and Terra Proctor.
“We have a good group of seniors,” Powers said. “We have a good group of experienced players, but I feel like we’ve actually got a pretty good balance this year. We’ve got a decent senior class, but we’ve had a lot of freshmen arrive this year, as well.”
Among the freshmen that have stood out since workouts got underway is Laura Fisher, whose older sister, Eve, will make her varsity debut. Another freshman who could see time is Vivian Hannon.
“A good portion of the team is going to be made up of that younger talent,” Powers said.
Cedar Ridge will open agains the defending 4A State Champions, Carrboro, in Hillsborough on Tuesday.
