LAURINBURG — The Fighting Scots tennis team hosted their home opener Wednesday in non-conference action against Jack Britt. The match lasted nearly four hours as the two teams refused to go down without a fight. The Scots came out victorious at the end of the match, 6-3 to pick up their first win of the season.
The warm-sunny day made for great tennis weather, with just a little bit of a breeze to keep the players from getting overheated.
The first singles match between Scots senior Shane Dubbs and Jack Britt’s Jason Chay was very one sided as Dubbs took an early lead. The seniors strong serve was often times too much for Chay, who had trouble getting the ball over the net on his serves. Dubbs easily earned the two-set victory, 6-1, 6-1.
Ryan Philips played second singles for the Scots and struggled in his match against Jack Britt’s Rithil Penmatcha. Philips had several bright spots during his match, chasing down a number of cross-court shots to keep the match alive. In the end, Philips wasn’t able to overcome his early match missteps falling in two sets, 3-6, 2-6.
The Scots only other singles loss came on the third singles court as the Scots Sam Poage lost a hard-fought match to Jack Britt’s Dylan Freeman. After a strong start in the first set, Poage narrowly lost 4-6 before forcing a tiebreaker to win the second set, 7-6 (7-1). Poage and Freeman continued their back-and-forth battle in the third set as Poage again narrowly lost, 8-10.
Fighting Scots senior Nyjel Collins-Jackson had a much easier time on the way to victory in his fourth singles match. Collins-Jackson’s backhand came in very handy as he scored numerous points on returns against Jack Britt’s Jevon White. The Scots senior cruised to a two set victory, 6-1, 6-3.
It was tougher sledding for the Scots No. 5 singles player as he took on Jack Britt’s Kyle Candy in marathon three-set match that also included a first-set tiebreaker. The two players were equally matched which resulted in a longer than normal match as they tried to best one another. Monroe eventually topped Candy 7-7 (3-4), 6-4, 10-4 to secure victory.
Jason Kang won his No. 6 singles match in far less dramatic fashion. Kang faced off against Jack Britt’s Luke Robenson and picked up his first victory of the season in two sets, 6-3, 6-1.
The Fighting Scots doubles teams won two of their three matches with second and third doubles securing victories to get the Scots their first team win of the season.
Dubbs and Philips lost a close first doubles match to Jack Britt’s Chay and Penmatcha, 5-8. Poage and Collins-Jackson easily picked up a second doubles win against the Buccaneers Freeman and White, 8-3. The Scots third singles duo of Nate Dubbs and Daniel Johnson also picked up a win over Jack Britt’s Jeremiah Grafals and Reeve Williams, 8-1.
The Scots move to 1-1 on the season and Jack Britt falls to 0-1. The two teams will play again in Hope Mills next Wednesday, March 15 at 4 p.m.
The Scots were scheduled to play Purnell on Thursday but that match was moved to March 27 at 4 p.m. The team is back on the courts Tuesday traveling to Southern Pines to take on Pinecrest in their first SEC match of the season. That match is scheduled to start at 4 p.m., weather permitting.
Amber Hatten can be reached at 910-506-3170.
