There was plenty to celebrate for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team on Tuesday night. It was senior night for players Cameron Mayhew, Catherine Ballinger, Annabeth Lundberg, Raven Mowles-Airing and Dupree Sorenson. On top of that, Cedar Ridge defeated crosstown rival Orange 6-3. It was their first win over Orange since August 28, 2019. Mayhew won her match at #1 singles. Later, on a hot, sticky night, she teamed with junior Adeline Cummings to defeat Erin and Shannon Sollars 8-5. It was the first time anyone this year defeated the Sollars sisters, who qualified for the 3A State Doubles Tennis Tournament last year. Ballinger teamed with junior Ella Caltabiano to wrap up the dual match win for the Red Wolves with a victory at #2 doubles. Ballinger also won her singles match. Cedar Ridge is undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference after beating the defending co-conference champions. It was also the final senior night for head coach Steve Mayhew, who is in his fourth season. Mayhew, a former player at Orange High, will step down at the end of this fall. The Red Wolves are now 3-2, 2-0 in the CCC. They will host Eno River Academy on Wednesday at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. On Thursday, they are slated to travel to Eastern Alamance. The Red Wolves would love to qualify for the state dual team tournament for the first time since 2016, when they won the Big 8 Championship.
Cedar Ridge women’s tennis seniors discuss Senior Night win over Orange
This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball outside hitter Ella Wimsatt. Through the first nine matches of the season, Wimsatt leads Orange with 152 kills. That includes a career-high 24 kills in a win at Falls Lake. She also had 19 kills against Southwest Randolph on August 19 at East Chapel Hill High School.