Following a regular season where they went 13-2, Orange’s most accomplished doubles team in history will try to qualify for the states doubles championship this weekend.
This time, Erinn and Shannon Sollars won’t be the only doubles team from Orange represented in the Mideast Regionals at the Burlington Tennis Center.
Last Wednesday in the Central Carolina Conference Tennis Tournament, Makayla Davis and Molly Kruse qualified for regionals with two victories.
The CCC Tournament, unlike past conference tournaments that Orange has been a part of, doesn’t crown an individual and doubles champion. The event simply takes the four finishers in singles and doubles and places them in the Mideast Regional, which starts this Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.
Orange’s Erinn and Shannon Sollars qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year. The top seed in the conference tournament, the Sollars sisters received a bye into the second round. In their only match of the day, the Sollars defeated Brianna Dale and Kensley Gasaway of Western Alamance 6-0, 6-0.
Davis and Kruse, who compiled an 11-1 record in the regular season, won two matches at the conference championships to qualify for the Mideast Regionals. In the opening round, Davis and Kruse defeated Paicey Cameron & Faith Moore of Southern Alamance 6-0, 6-1. In the second match,. Davis & Kruse punched their ticket to the regionals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Reagan Williams and Sarah McLaughlin of Western Alamance.
Davis is a senior who was Orange’s regular #3 singles player this season for a squad that made the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Tournament for the third straight year. Kruse is in her first year as a starter after being a regular contributor for the Orange women’s soccer team last spring.
In 2022, the Sollars sisters reached the 3A State Tournament and defeated Ellie Holtzman and Berkeley Geyer of Hickory in the opening round 6-0, 6-2 and reached the quarterfinals. In 2021, Erinn Sollars and Jera Hargove qualified for the 3A State Championships and defeated Dabney Osborne and Emily Mitchum of J.H. Rose 6-4, 6-2.
Hargrove now plays at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
The 3A State Tournament will be held at the Burlington Tennis Center on October 27 & 28.
Men’s Cross Country: In a possible preview of the 3A State Cross Country Championships next month, Gabriel Schmid finished second overall in the NC Runners Elite Cross Country Invitational at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex.
Out of 17 teams, Orange finished second in the team standings. Croatan, a 3A squad that will likely be a top challenger for the Panthers in the state championships, finished first with 69 points Orange finished second with 78 points.
Schmid came in with a time of 16:02.18. The individual winner was Dawson Reeves of Christ School, a private school of of Arden, at 16:00.16. Alden Cathey of Orange finished 18th at 17:08.38. Orange’s Myler Jerman came in 22nd (17:14.21) while sophomore Lucas Van Mater was 23rd (17:14.86). Peter Musser came in 25th (17:17.50).
Edgar Ibarra of Cedar Ridge was the top Red Wolves runner, finishing 71st at 18:28.92. Nathan Walters, Henry Alexander, Grayson Wisenfeld, Michael O’Melia, Jacob Olmstead, Elie Ndahiriwe and William Neuman also ran for the Red Wolves.
The Central Carolina Conference men’s cross country championships will be held today (Wednesday) in Burlington.
Women’s Cross Country: Cedar Ridge’s Naomi Dyreng was the top female runner from a Hillsborough school at the NC Runners Elite Cross Country championships last Saturday. Dyreng finished 13th overall at 20:08.36. Cedar Ridge junior Abigail Klaitman was 22nd at 20:56.30. The Red Wolves’ Kate Finnegan, a freshman, finished 53rd at 23:44.29. The Red Wolves Anna Peterson was 65th (25:04.98) Out of ten teams in the field, Cedar Ridge finished sixth with 158 points.
North Lincoln finished with the team championship with 41 points. Allie Zealand of Pacers Homeschool finished first overall in the women’s race with a time of 17:48.47.