Orange Panther of the Week: Jera Hargrove

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore women’s tennis player Jera Hargrove. For the second year in a row, Hargrove qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals In singles play. Her first match is scheduled for Friday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center. Hargrove has been the #1 singles player since her freshman season at Orange and helped Orange to an 11-8 record, its best mark this decade. Hargrove’s brother played at Orange and is now at Tuskegee University in Alabama. This weekend, Jera aims to qualify for the 3A State Singles Championships by reaching the semifinals. Last week, Hargrove qualified for regionals after she defeated a player from East Chapel Hill to reach the semifinals in the Big 8 Tennis Championship at the Lindsay Linker Tennis Stadium. The 3A State Championships will be held at the Burlington Tennis Center, as well, starting October 25.