Not even Cedar Ridge’s first girls tennis conference championship team had a player that qualified for the state tournament.
However, Red Wolves freshman Ivy Garner has accomplished something that no other Cedar Ridge girls tennis player has: she will play for an individual state championship this weekend.
On Saturday, Garner finished as the runner up in the 3-A Mideast Regional Championships. Garner advanced to the Regional Championship match, where she fell to Carter Juergens of Northern Guilford 6-3, 6-0.
Garner won her opening singles match over April Harrington of Grays Creek 6-1, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Garner knocked off Emma Hilburn of Northern Guilford 6-1, 6-0. In the semfinals, Garner won a the only three-set match of the championship round, beating Northern Guilford’s Emily Callahan 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
Garner will be the #2 seed from the Mideast for the state championships on Saturday at the Burlington Tennis Center. The 16-player tournament features Garner taking on Madison Cullpher of D.H. Conley in the opening round.
Cedar Ridge’s Olivia Ward also qualified for regionals, falling to River Britt of Union Pines 6-2, 6-4. The Cedar Ridge doubles team of Kate Milner and Brianna Celine lost in the opening round to Hailee Haymore and Charlotte Craven of Union Pines 6-0, 6-2.
The East Chapel Hill doubles team of Savannah Bright and Stela Joksimovic captured the Mideast Regional Championship by beating Haymore and Craven in the championship 7-5, 6-1.