The cracks are gone. The fading pine green courts have a bright, vivid shade of new paint. The lighting is bright enough to be see hundreds of yards away from the baseball press box.
Theses are the new Orange High tennis courts, which received renovations at the end of the men’s season in April. After spending the first three-and-half weeks of the season on the road, the Orange women’s tennis team finally returned home on Monday and continued a stellar season.
The Lady Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance 7-2 in its first match after the reopening of their courts on Monday afternoon. Up to this point, Orange had played matches against in-county rivals Cedar Ridge and Eno River Academy at the Walker Tennis Complex in Mebane.
The last time the tennis complex had been refurbished was 2008. Cracks started to develop across all eight courts.
“It was just time,” said Orange men’s and women’s tennis coach Justin Webb. “For the past four years, the (Orange County) School Board had been looking at redoing the tennis courts. They just wanted to make sure they had the money and the resources to get it done.”
There is also new fencing and new drainage, which clears up some water issues that had been building in recent years. Plus, there’s an expanded walkway that is more handicap accessible. It came in handy on Wednesday night when Orange hosted Western Alamance as the mother of one of the Warriors got to sit comfortably in her wheelchair behind court 1 to watch her daughter’s doubles match.
“She came up and thanked me,” Webb said. “This walkway is big and allows people to get to the end courts. There’s a gate for American Disability Association accessibility. So I think those were some of the big things that needed to be fixed. And we got some new light posts.”
Following its wins over Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, Orange remains just one game behind Walter Williams for first place in the Central Conference.
In 2022, Orange won its first-ever conference championship in women’s tennis with a heavy array of players who didn’t have tennis as their best sport, but they were stellar athletes. Sydney Rogers, Katelyn Van Mater, Isabel Jones and Makayla Davis were all starters who helped Orange reach the second round of the 3A State Playoffs.
This year, Orange has more multi-sport athletes who are regulars in Webb’s lineup. Molly Kruse, a junior who has played soccer the past two years, has been on Orange’s top doubles team with Shannon Sollars, one of only two seniors on a squad with 21 players.
Against the Eagles, Orange won 8-1, improving to 8-2 overall, 6-1 in the Central Conference. Freshman Kalynn Mason claimed two wins on the night. She defeated Madison Drewery 6-3, 6-4 at #2 singles. Mason teamed with Ellie Wilson to defeat Ryan Tanner and Claire Monroe 8-3. Orange won five singles matches to wrap up the dual match victory before doubles play started.
Wilson, a sophomore, won at #3 singles over Tanner 6-4, 6-2. Junior Oakley Gaddy won at #4 singles over Monroe 6-1, 6-2. Junior Casey Robinson knocked off Jayci White at #5 singles 6-0, 6-0. Adelyn Alvis, who runs track and field for Orange in the spring, won at #6 singles when her opponent retired after one set.
Sollars and Kruse won at #1 doubles over Camila Rosa and Monroe 8-0. At #3 doubles, Kyla Mehl and Alvis defeated White and Areli Silva Flores 8-0.
On Wednesday night, Orange defeated Western Alamance 7-2 to sweep the regular season series for the fourth straight year. The Lady Panthers will face Williams on Monday night in Hillsborough. The Bulldogs are 6-0 in conference play after edging Orange 5-4 on August 21 in Burlington. Williams is 7-0 on the year. Orange is the only team to win four individual matches against the Bulldogs this year.