LAURINBURG — Members of the Fighting Scots tennis team competed in the first round of the 4A East Regional Tournament on Friday in Wilmington at the Althea Gibson Tennis Complex.
Scots senior Shane Dubbs and junior doubles duo Nyjel Collins-Jackson and Sam Poage represented their school and the Southeastern conference, along with two other individuals from the Southeastern conference. The other conferences in the 4A East Regional include Eastern Carolina, Mideastern and the Mid-South Athletic.
In order to advance to the regional tournament, Dubbs, Collins-Jackson and Poage battled their way through the SEC tournament last week. Dubbs lost in the singles championship and Collins-Jackson and Poage finished third in the doubles bracket.
Collins-Jackson and Poage earned the No. 4 seed in the doubles bracket and took on a familiar opponent in Jack Britt’s Dylan Freeman and Jevon White — the No. 3 seed. Just like in their meeting during the regular season, Collins-Jackson and Poage came out victorious with a two set win, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round where they will face the No. 1 seeded doubles team from New Hanover Grittith Waren and Westley Gaines.
Collins-Jackson and Poage weren’t able to pull off the upset against Waren and Gaines fall in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 to end their tournament run.
Dubbs didn’t fare as well falling in the first round to New Hanover’s Patrick Senior in two sets, 6-0, 6-1. Regionals are single elimination so the loss ends Dubbs career with the Fighting Scots.
Despite the losses, head coach Atondra Ellis was over the moon about how her players fared at regionals against some stiff competition.
“I’m really proud of my team. We’ve hit some tough spots this season but performed well,” Ellis said. “The highlight of the season was the 5-4 win against Pinecrest. Shane will be greatly missed, his skill and maturity were an asset to the team. Our other seniors — Daniel Johnson, Adam Wood, Hunter Hopkins, Dawson Chavis and Michael Tyson — will be tought to replace as well. We had a wonderful blend of personalities that made the team work. We still have a number of returning players that will make us a strong contender in the conference next season.”
The Fighting Scots finished the regular season with an 8-5 overall record and 6-3 in SEC play to finish in third place. Dubbs finished second in the conference in singles and Collins-Jackson and Poage finished third.
Day two of the 4A regionals begins today at 2 p.m. in Wilmington. The 4A state tournament will take place next Friday and Saturday at Millbrook Exchange Park in Raleigh.
Amber Hatten can be reached at 910-506-3170.