BURLINGTON–The most decorated tennis player in Cedar Ridge history will return to the 3A State Tournament one more time.
On Saturday, senior Josh Mayhew reached the final of the Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center. It was the third straight year that Mayhew reached a regional final. In the semifinals on Saturday morning, Mayhew defeated Jayden Pham of Terry Sanford 6-1, 6-2 to reach the final.
In the opening round on Friday afternoon, Mayhew defeated Bryce Pittman of Northern Nash 6-1, 6-0. In the second round with a spot at the state championships on the line, Mayhew upended Zac Blizzard of the Durham School of the Arts 6-1, 6-0.
In the regional final match on Saturday, Drew Hedgecoe of Terry Sanford defeated Mayhew 6-0, 6-1. It was the second straight year that Hedgecoe and Mayhew met in the regional final. Hedgecoe, the defending 3A State Champion, also met Mayhew in the 3A State Championship match last May in the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro.
Mayhew is the first Cedar Ridge tennis player in history to reach the state tournament three different times. He is only the second player in school history to reach the state singles final. In 2010, Jerry Newburg reached the 2A final, where he lost to Ethan Caudell of St. Pauls 7-5, 6-0.
After losing virtually his entire freshman season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayhew quickly broke new ground for men’s tennis at Cedar Ridge. With his father Steve Mayhew, a former Orange High tennis player, as head coach, Mayhew reached the Mideast Regional final after beating Chapel Hill’s Eddy Ferreira 6-2, 6-2. In his sophomore season, Mayhew went 15-3. All three of his losses came against the same player, Chapel Hill’s Dennis Perumov. Mayhew became the first Cedar Ridge player to reach the state singles final of a 3A event, where he faced Perumov. In the state semifinals, Mayhew bounced Marvin Ridge’s Soham Pradhan 6-2, 6-4.
As a junior, Mayhew was the Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year. He led the Red Wolves to the CCC Conference Championship, where they face Carrboro in the 3A State Dual Team Tournament in the opening round. Mayhew reached the final of the 3A Mideast Regionals. In the opening round of the 2022 regionals, Mayhew defeated Luke O’Donnell of Franklinton 6-1, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, Mayhew defeated Pham 6-2, 6-2. In the semifinals, Mayhew rolled past Jacob Womble of Lee County to reach the finals.
In the 2022 3A State Tournament in Greensboro, Mayhew won over Ajay Swisher of St. Stephens 6-0, 6-1. In the opening round of the 3A State Tournament, Mayhew knocked off J.J. Werner of First Flight 6-0, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Mayhew advanced beating Shiv Patel of South Point 6-0, 6-2.
Mayhew is only the third player ever from Hillsborough to play for a state singles championship. He is the first one to do it multiple times. The only player from Orange High to ever accomplish that feat was Britton Webb in the 2006 2A final. Will Rollinson of Cardinal Gibbons defeated Webb 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Last week, Mayhew was named the Central Carolina Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Last fall, he officially signed to play at Belmont-Abbey College in Belmont. He will start next fall.
Last summer, Mayhew was named Best Tennis Player at the HighSchoolOT.com Honors in Raleigh. He is up for that same honor once again this year.
Next weekend, Mayhew will have one more trip to the 3A State Tournament, which is slated to be played at the Burlington Tennis Center once again. He will start in the round of 16. The semifinals and the championship match are scheduled for Saturday.
Mayhew’s sister, Cameron, also plays at Cedar Ridge. Josh is a regular at her matches during the fall whenever he’s away from his relentless training schedule.