Cedar Ridge Men’s Tennis

After a long day of school, why does someone stay after a two-hour practice to work on their serve for another 90 minutes? So that they accomplish things that no one has done before.

Only a sophomore, that’s what Cedar Ridge sophomore Josh Mayhew has done. He has become the first Red Wolf to advance to the semifinals of the 3A State Men’s Tennis Semifinals.

On Friday, Mayhew defeated Nicholas Clementi of Charlotte Catholic 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of the 3A State Tennis Tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center. That win alone put Mayhew in a class by himself. He became the first tennis player from Hillsborough to win a match in the 3A State Tournament since 2012, at least.

Then Mayhew really outdid himself. He defeated Clayton’s Ben Jones 7-5, 7-5 to reach the semifinals. On Saturday morning, Mayhew will face Soham Pradhan of Marvin Ridge for a spot in the championship match.

The only player from Hillsborough to ever reach a state tennis championship match was Orange’s Britton Webb in 2005. Will Rollinson of Cardinal Gibbons defeated Webb 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the 2A Final.

Representatives from the Big 8 Conference comprise half of the 3A State Semifinals. Chapel Hill’s Dennis Perumov will take on Western Guilford’s Josh Gillis in the other semifinal on Saturday morning.

The victory continues a whirlwind week for Mayhew, which started last Saturday. After the 3A Mideast Regional was delayed a day by rain, Mayhew became the first Cedar Ridge player since Zac Mayhew in 2014 to reach the 3A State Tournament. Mayhew defeated Western Alamance’s Will Geiger 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round of the regionals in Burlington, then punched his ticket to the state championships with a 6-0, 6-0 win over East Chapel Hill’s Rama Varanasi.

Rain delayed the regional finals to Tuesday, but Mayhew defeated Chapel Hill’s Eddy Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 to reach the championship match. Perumov, the only player to beat Mayhew this year, won the regional championship 6-2, 6-2.

Mayhew’s run was part of a noteworthy day for Hillsborough tennis. Earlier, the doubles team of Colin O’Hagerty and Brandon Gwinn became the first representatives from Orange High in the 3A State Tennis Tournament since 2013, at least. In the opening round, Rish Reddy and Harrison Williams of Marvin Ridge defeated Gwinn and O’Hagerty 6-2, 6-1.

“I am super proud of Orange High School and Cedar Ridge for advancing to states,” said Cedar Ridge men’s tennis coach Steve Mayhew, who played at Orange High. “Having both schools from Hillsborough and advancing to States was so awesome to see.”

Mayhew, in his first varsity season, is 13-2 in singles play. He helped Cedar Ridge to a 9-4 overall record this season.

“Josh played two outstanding opponents who made you earn every point,” Steve Mayhew said. “Toward the end of the second match against Ben, Josh started cramping in his legs but persevered to win.”

Mayhew has strengthen himself with out-of-state tournaments during the summer in South Carolina and Georgia. While the pandemic ruined any chances of developing at Cedar Ridge during his freshman year, he still worked out with his coach at various facilities around UNC, even though many of the tennis clubs were shut down.

At night, Mayhew’s family gathers at Cedar Ridge tennis courts for games of pickle ball and doubles games. Now, Mayhew is on the cusp of something no Red Wolf has ever done before: play in a state tennis championship match.

“I think all the tournaments that Josh has played in the past helped him be ready both mentally and physically for regionals and today,” Mayhew said. “As his coach I am very proud of Josh but as his Dad, I am extremely happy for him because I know all the hours and sacrifice that he puts into tennis. To see all the hard work pay off is very nice. I like the fact that he is not satisfied and is ready to compete tomorrow.”

For his first Mideast Regional tournament, Cedar Ridge sophomore Josh Mayhew set a goal of beating one of Chapel Hill’s top players.

Mission accomplished.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mayhew defeated Chapel Hill senior Eddy Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 to reach the championship match of the Mideast Regional at the Burlington Tennis Club. In the final, Chapel Hill’s Dennis Perumov defeated Mayhew 6-2, 6-2 for the regional title.

Mayhew had the best singles finish in a regional for any singles player from Hillsborough since 2014. It was the third time this year that Mayhew had faced Perumov, a senior who is 13-0 this year.

Mayhew will be the #2 seed from the Mideast for the 3A NCHSAA State Singles Tournament, which begins Friday morning in Burlington. Mayhew, in his first varsity season, is 11-2. His only losses in singles play have come against Perumov.

Also on Tuesday, Orange’s doubles team of Brandon Gwinn & Colin O’Hagerty lost to East Chapel Hill’s Kabir Grewal & Michael Gannon 6-2, 6-1. Gwinn & O’Hagerty will become the first representatives from Orange in the state tennis championships since 2013 on Friday. They will be the #4 seed in the 3A State Doubles Tournament.

Wrestling: Orange 60, Northwood 9

Though wrestling season falls during the spring this year, that doesn’t mean it will be any different than most others within the Big 8 Conference. Once again, the conference title will come down to Chapel Hill vs. Orange.

On Tuesday night, Orange defeated Northwood 60-9 to improve to 7-0. It was senior night at Panther Gymnasium for grapplers like Kessel Summers, who won his 100th match last week. On Tuesday, Summers pinned Northwood’s Asher Rockriver in 40 seconds at 132 pounds for his 103rd career win.

Senior Hayden Horne pinned Northwood’s Jacob Dunning in 5:41. At heavyweight, Tyler Larkin pinned George Gilson in 1:42.

Matthew Smith Breeden, who has wrestled four years at varsity, scored a major decision over Ian Morrison 10-2. Henry Joubert-Stanzel pinned Ryan Brinker in 1:09. At 195 pounds, Elliot Woods earned another major decision against Hunter Klingel 15-1.

At 120 pounds, Colton Jones pinned Coltrane Northington in 1:19. Jared Hutchins put Orange ahead 12-0 after he pinned Aiden Vigus in 1:14.

Avery Clark won via forfeit at 138. Andrew Hill pinned Northwood’s Nathan Davis in 1:31 at 160 pounds.

Orange will prepare for Tuesday’s match against Chapel Hill when they face Riverside and Hillside in a tri-meet in Durham on Thursday.

Cedar Ridge 36, Eastern Alamance 33; Cedar Ridge 54, Northern Durham 12

Fernando Martinez, James Rosati-Brown and Daina Pritchard maintained their undefeated individual records for 2021 as Cedar Ride swept a tri-match inside Red Wolves Gymnasium on Thursday night.

The Red Wolves defeated Eastern Alamance 36-33. Kaden Tatro won the deciding match for the Red Wolves after he pinned Aidan Clark in :45 at 170 pounds. Martinez started the dual match with a pin of Caden Parsons in 48 seconds. Martinez would go on to a forfeit victory over Northern Durham to improve to 8-0 with four pins this season.

At 152 pounds, Rosati-Brown pinned Northern Durham’s Khayree Dixon in 1:24. Rosati-Brown, who picked up a forfeit win over Eastern Alamance, is also 8-0. His victory over Dixon was the 63rd of his Cedar Ridge career.

Pritchard pined Cameron Rivera of Eastern Alamance in 6:30. It was Pritchard’s sixth pin of the year. A forfeit win over Northern Durham improved Pritchard’s record to 8-0 this year. Pritchard now has 59 career wins.

Senior Kady Watkins also earned two wins on the night. Watkins pinned Eastern Alamance’s Mason Tanner in 2:49. She earned a forfeit win against Northern. Watkins pinned Southeast Guilford’s Colton Krall for her first win this season last week at Orange High.

At 132 pounds, Cedar Ridge’s Mac McGhee pinned Khamani Dixon in 1:46. Gavin Mintz got a forfeit win at 160 pounds for the Red Wolves, as did Wyatt Robinson at 182 pounds.

Cedar Ridge improved to 4-4 and will travel to East Chapel Hill for a tri-meet on Thursday.

BURLINGTON–There had not been a Hillsborough representative in the NCHSAA 3A State Men’s Tennis Championships, singles or doubles tournaments, since 2014.

This year, there will be two.

For such a lofty accomplishments that took years for anyone to accomplish, Cedar Ridge sophomore Josh Mayhew didn’t exactly survive a thriller to clinch a spot in the 3A Mideast Regional Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Burlington Tennis Center. Mayhew cruised past East Chapel Hill’s Rama Varanasi 6-0, 6-0 in the second round. Earlier in the day, Mayhew defeated Western Alamance’s Will Geiger 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round.

The four semifinals in the regionals, scattered across four different tournaments in North Carolina, automatically qualify for the 3A State Championships.

Mayhew is the first Cedar Ridge singles player to qualify for the 3A State Singles Tournament since 2014, when Zac Marion faced George Lovitt of Marvin Ridge in the opening round. Lovitt won by default.

Mayhew has made up for lost time after the pandemic prematurely halted his freshman season. In addition to regular practices with his teammates, he often stays afterwards to practice his serve, often with softball and baseball games going on around him. His father, Steve, and sister, Cameron, occasionally play pickle ball at Cedar Ridge Tennis Courts after workouts.

“I’ve been practicing a lot,” Mayhew said. “There’s some good people in this tournament like Dennis Perumov (of Chapel Hill) and Eddy Ferreria of Chapel Hill. That’s my goal for this tournament, to beat them.”

While Mayhew has played offseason events in South Carolina and Georgia, the state tournament will offer a new challenge.

“I think it will be some good competition,” Mayhew said. “I can’t wait to play them.”

Mayhew will face Ferreria in the regional semifinals on Monday. The regional title match will also be held later that afternoon.

While Mayhew won easily, Orange’s doubles team of Colin O’Hagerty and Brandon Gwinn pulled the upset of the tournament. In the second round, the unseeded Panther tandem defeated Northern Guilford’s Duncan Moore and James Harrington 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Moore and Harrington arrived into the event as the #2 seeded doubles team.

“I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning,” Gwinn said. “We turned out to have the upper hand in the end.”

O’Hagerty and Gwinn are the first representatives, singles or doubles, to reach the 3A State Tournament since Justin Webb became Orange’s coach in 2013.

Gwinn and O’Hagerty didn’t start the season as a doubles team. O’Hagerty teams with Justin Conover, Orange’s top singles player. Webb decided to adjust at midseason.

“I thought Colin and Brandon were a better pairing and it worked out for us,” Webb said. “They went from not being a doubles pairing to being in states. So that’s pretty impressive. They came in very focused and towards the end of the season they started to play some of their best tennis.”

Gwinn and O’Hagerty have their contrasts. Gwinn shows up for matches with a pumpkin logo designed on the bottom his racket and will gladly show it off for anyone who requests it.

“Colin is definitely more of a serious player,” Webb said. “Brandon brings a little more laid back nature. They tend to offset each other.”

In the opening round, Gwinn and O’Hagerty defeated Isai Gutierrez and Francisco Urieta of Harnett Central 6-1, 6-0. On Monday, O’Hagerty and Gwinn will face Kabir Grewal and Michael Gannon of East Chapel Hill in the semifinals.

Orange junior Justin Conover defeated Western Alamance’s Zach Allred 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. It was one of two matches in the opening round to go three sets.

Terry Sanford’s Jordan Miller defeated Conover in the second round with a spot in the state championships on the line.

The Mideast Regionals was a final show of domination for the Big 8 Conference, which will disband next month. Of the eight qualifiers for the state championships, seven were from the Big 8.

The event was originally scheduled for Friday, but was rained out and postponed until Saturday morning.

The 3A State Championships are scheduled to start Friday at the Burlington Tennis Center.

For the first time since 2014, Cedar Ridge has had a singles player qualify for the 3A State Tennis Championships. For something that took such a long time, sophomore Josh Mayhew accomplished the feat in anti-climatic fashion at the Burlington Tennis Center on Saturday. Mayhew defeated East Chapel Hill’s Rama Varanasi 6-0, 6-0 in the second round of the 3A Mideast Regionals. Mayhew, who went 7-2 in his first full varsity season at Cedar Ridge this season, became the first Cedar Ridge player to qualify for the 3A State Championships since Zac Marion did it in 2014. Mayhew has been known to commonly stay around practice at Cedar Ridge to continue practicing, or play pickleball with his family, including his younger sister Cameron, a freshman at Cedar Ridge who is a member of the Red Wolves’ women’s team. Mayhew will face Chapel Hill’s Eddy Ferreira in the regional semifinals on Monday. The regional championship will be played that night.

Women’s Soccer: The standard for goal scoring at Cedar Ridge for years, and possibly decades, to come will be 87 goals.

That’s what Cedar Ridge senior forward Emerson Talley ended her storied high school career with after the Red Wolves defeated Vance County 9-0 in Henderson on Monday. It was Talley’s 14th career hat trick and the fourth of the abbreviated 2021 season.

The Red Wolves ended the season 5-9 after Southern Durham forfeited the final game of the season, which was slated for Wednesday night. Talley, who vowed to former Cedar Ridge head coach P.J. Michaelson that she would score 100 goals in her career, likely would have exceeded that total in her junior season if it wasn’t for the pandemic.

Last week, Talley formally signed with Division II Lenoir-Rhyne.

As Talley’s career ended with a hat trick, a Red Wolf freshman had her first three-goal game. Rachel Alverson had a hat trick for Cedar Ridge, as well. In her final game, Cedar Ridge’s Nicol Anderson had a brace.

ORANGE 4, NORTHERN DURHAM 1

The Orange women’s soccer team concluded its most successful season since 2015 with a 4-1 victory over Northern Durham at James Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday night.

Sophomore Madison Orange scored two goals for the Lady Panthers, who finished the season 11-5. In her final game, senior co-Captain Logan Rogers notched a goal and dished out an assist. Sophomore Isabel Jones also scored a goal for Orange. Freshman Ella Wimsatt had two assists. Junior Bella Brown, who transferred from Alamance Christian School last summer, also assisted on a goal.

Brown ended the year as Orange’s leading scorer with 15 goals and four assists, as well as four hat tricks.

In terms of record, Orange had its best season since they went 15-4-2 in 2015.

WRESTLING: ORANGE 78, NORTHERN DURHAM 0; ORANGE 60, EAST CHAPEL HILL 18

For the first time this century, the Orange wrestling team started as challengers to the Big 8 Conference title as opposed to the defending champions. Things started promising as the Panthers defeated East Chapel Hill 60-18 on Tuesday night inside Panther Gymnasium.

On Thursday, Orange rolled past Northern Durham 78-0 in Hillsborough. Only four matches were contested as the Panthers claimed the other nine bouts via forfeit.

Matthew Smith-Breeden pinned Wyatt Gardner at 152 pounds. At 220 pounds, Hugo Vazquez scored his second pin of the week. Tyler Larkin earned a pin at heavyweight over John Neiman. Samuel Crawford scored his own pin at 145 pounds. Dillon Heffernan, Talan Pearley, Joshua Dunn, Kessel Summers, Avery Clark, Chase Harward, Nate Hecht, Brendon Worsham, and Korbin Nevius all earned forfeit wins.

Against East Chapel Hill, Orange scored nine pinfalls. Summers, a junior who has committed to wrestle at Bluefield College (NAIA) in Virginia, earned a pinfall victory. Joshua Dunn (126), Jose Grimaldo (145), Smith-Breeden (152), Hecht (170), Worsham (182), Nevius (195), Vasquez (220), and Larkin also scored pins for Orange.

CEDAR RIDGE 52, SOUTHERN DURHAM 24

On Thursday night, the Cedar Ridge wrestling team earned its first win of the young season with a 52-24 victory over Southern Durham. The Red Wolves got pins from Fernando Martinez at 120 pounds and veteran James Rosati-Brown at 152 pounds.

Daina Pritchard, fresh off of wrestling season ending, scored a major decision over Thomas Johnson 14-5 at 145 pounds. Mac McGhee, Gavin Mintz, Kaden Tatro, C.J. Jackson, Wyatt Robinson, and Aiden Kearns all claimed forfeit wins.

On Tuesday, Cedar Ridge participated in a tri-match against Northwood and Providence Grove. The Chargers edged the Red Wolves 40-36. Martinez scored a pin at 1:16 in his match. Pritchard, Rosati-Brown and Tatro all earned pinfall victories, as well. At 195 pounds, Wyatt Robinson pinned Northwood’s Jason Schroeder in 1:59.

Providence Grove defeated the Red Wolves 60-21. Martinez earned another pin over Logan Armfield in 1:18. Pritchard pinned Derrick Isley in 1:43. Rosati-Brown pinned Nathan Hutcherson in 3:03. Robinson grinded out a 5-2 decision over Gavin Hardister at 195.

MEN’S TENNIS:

CEDAR RIDGE 9, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

Will Ballenger and Colby Alford ended their senior seasons successfully for the Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team on Wednesday afternoon. The Red Wolves rolled past Southern Durham to conclude the regular season 9-4. It was Cedar RIdge’s most successful dual season since 2017, when the Red Wolves finished 10-3.

Ballenger started at #1 singles and captured a 6-1, 6-1 win. Alford started at #2 singles and won 6-0, 6-2. Junior Derrick Stephens, Bowen Woods and Leo Filley also picked up singles wins for the Red Wolves.

In doubles, Ballenger and Alford teamed for a win at #1. Walker Richards-Baker and Jason Pattison won at #2 doubles. Woods and Filley completed the sweep at #3 doubles.

Cedar Ridge will start play in the Big 8 Conference Men’s Tennis Championships inside Lindsey Linker Tennis Courts at East Chapel Hill High School on Friday afternoon.

ORANGE 6, SOUTHERN DURHAM 0

The Orange men’s tennis team completed its fourth straight winning season with a 6-0 victory at Southern Durham on Tuesday.

Colin O’Hagerty, Joseph Clark, Finn Kelly, Tristan Plummer, Brandon Kessler and Jackson Panning took singles wins for the Panthers.

Softball: Everything thrilling and frustrating about the Cedar Ridge softball team was on full display during its two-game series against Northern Durham.

On Tuesday, the Red Wolves rolled past the Knights 12-2 at Knights Field. The Red Wolves played an errorless game as they handed the Knights just its second loss of the season.

On Wednesday, Cedar Ridge committed five errors in a 15-14 loss to the Knights in Hillsborough. Northern scored eight unearned runs as they held on for dear life as the Red Wolves mounted another patented seventh inning comeback that fell just short.

In the series-opening win, Red Wolves third baseman Takia Nichols went 3-for-4 with four RBIs. In the fourth inning, Nichols drilled a three-run homer to dead centerfield to push the Red Wolves ahead 6-1. It was Nichols’ 19th career home run.

Nichols started the game with a line drive to centerfield. Ava Lowry reached on an error by the pitcher, which allowed Nichols to score the game’s opening run. In the second, first baseman Alex Matthews looped a two-run single to centerfield to score Tori Carden and Lajoan Stuart, a courtesy runner for Hayley King.

After Nichols’ home run, Olivia Aitkin singled home Ava Lowry. Marlee Rakouskas got an RBI groundout to send in Aitkin and increase the Red Wolves’ lead to 8-1. In the fifth, Nichols doubled home ShiLi Quade.

On Wednesday, both teams battled the elements on a blustery day where wind gusts reached nearly 30 miles per hour and the temperatures plummeted after first pitch. Cedar Ridge scored four runs in the first inning, including an RBI double by Nichols to score Quade. After Lowry was hit by a pitch, Aitkin laced a two-run triple to centerfield.

Northern chipped away until an 8-run fourth inning where all the runs came in with two out. Third baseman Jessica Wolter reached on an infield error to score Aubrey Clayton and Abi Walker and the Knights were off to the races. Alana Holland, who finished 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs, laced an RBI single to left field. Pitcher Taylor Penne earned the win despite piling up 167 pitches.

Nichols had her 20th career home run with an inside-the-park homer in the sixth inning. With Cedar Ridge trailing 15-11 going into the seventh inning, Quade got on board via an error to lead off the frame. Quade eventually scored off an RBI single by Aitkin. Second baseman Reagan Rhul laced a line drive down the left field line for another inside-the-park home run to pull within 15-14. Northern first baseman Savannah Burton threw to Clayton for a 3-4 out for the final out.

Cedar Ridge will host East Chapel Hill on Friday.

Men’s Tennis: The Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team defeated Carrboro 9-0 on Tuesday at Jaguars Tennis Courts. Josh Mayhew, Eli Rachlin, Lev Bearman, and Walker Richards-Baker each earned straight sets singles wins for the Red Wolves. The most exciting matches for the Red Wolves came at #2 singles, where Will Ballenger defeated Joseph Lee 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, winning the third set tiebreaker 12-10. At #5 singles, Holden Rachlin defeated Tristan Reid 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, taking the 10-point tiebreaker 10-4.

Mayhew & Ballenger won at #1 doubles for Cedar Ridge. Carter Tholes and Bearman teamed together for a win at #2 doubles, while Colby Alford and Derrick Stephens captured the #3 doubles.

On Wednesday, East Chapel Hill defeated Cedar Ridge 7-1 at Lindsey Linker Tennis Courts. Mayhew won the Cedar Ridge match at #1 singles over East’s Max Winzelberg.

As for Orange, the Panthers defeated Northwood 5-4 in Pittsboro. Justin Conover and Joseph Clark captured the double match that earned the Panthers the team victory by an 8-3 tally. Orange’s Colin O’Hagerty & Brandon Gwinn won its #1 doubles match. Conover, Gwynn and O’Hagerty also won their singles matches.

On Wednesday, Chapel Hill defeated Orange 9-0. The Panthers, 5-6 overall, will host Southern Durham next Tuesday to end the regular season. The Big 8 Conference Tournament is slated for next week.

Golf: Orange had two men’s players qualify for the 3A Mideast Regionals during the final Big 8 Conference match of the season at Umstead Golf Course in Durham on Tuesday. Senior Joshua Frank and sophomore Thomas Loch each shot an 88. However, their year-long nine hole average was enough for them to qualify for regionals. Both players averaged below a 42 for their nine-hole average.

In addition, Cedar Ridge senior Bradley Monschien also qualified for the Mideast Regionals.

The Mideast Regionals will be held at Keith Hills Golf Club in Lillingston on May 3.

Our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week to be honored this academic year is sophomore men’s tennis player Josh Mayhew. Last week, the Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team defeated Southern Durham 9-0 on Monday and edged Northwood 5-4 on Wednesday in Pittsboro. Mayhew won both of his matches at #1 singles. Just like Andrei Svechnikov stays on the ice after Carolina Hurricanes games shooting pucks into an empty net, Mayhew often stays late after Cedar Ridge practices trying to improve. Currently, Mayhew is ranked #33 in the state among players under 16 years old, and #170 in the South. Mayhew is 5-1 in singles action this year. Cedar Ridge is 5-2 this season and is hunting an at-large spot in the 3A Dual Team Tennis Playoffs. Mayhew is also going for a spot in the 3A Mideast Regionals. Thanks to Josh and congratulations to our first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week.

As an aside, we will honor athletes in all sports for the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week and the Orange Panther of the Week in the months ahead. We will flash back to the fall sports with men’s and women’s cross country, as well as volleyball. We’ll go week-by-week and present awards to each athlete dating back to November 16, which was the first week of official high school competition this academic year. We’ll do retro updates every week, starting this week, as well as honoring the athletes of the week for this spring and into the summer with baseball, wrestling, men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s track and field.

Cedar Ridge Men’s Tennis: The Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team rolled past Southern Durham 9-0 at Spartans Tennis Courts on Monday. Sophomore Josh Mayhew captured his match at #1 singles 6-0, 6-0 to improve to 4-1 on the season. Mayhew also teamed with senior Will Ballenger at #1 doubles.

Ballenger, Eli Rachlin, Holdin Rachlin, Lev Bearman and Derrick Stephens all claimed singles victories for the Red Wolves.

Last week, Mayhew, a sophomore, defeated East Chapel HIll’s top singles player, Max Winzelberg, 6-1, 7-5. This season, Mayhew is now 4-1 in singles. Mayhew and Ballenger teamed to defeat Chapel Hill’s Alex Whang and Wayne Vanderford 9-7 on March 17. Mayhew’s only loss of the year came against CHHS’ Dennis Perumov. Currently, Mayhew is ranked #33 in the state.

The match against Southern Durham officially completed Cedar Ridge’s Big 8 Conference season. They finished 4-2, though they will play the rest of the Big 8 teams in matches that will not count in the league standings. However, they will count in the overall standings, which could help the Red Wolves clinch a spot as a wildcard in the 3A State Dual Team Tennis Tournament.

Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 7-2 on March 22 at Panther Tennis Courts, which ended a three-match losing streak to the Red Wolves’ crosstown rivals.

Mayhew and Ballenger are 4-1 in doubles play this season and hope to qualify for the regional doubles championships next month.

The 3A Mideast Tennis Regional will be on May 7 at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Cedar Ridge women’s soccer: It’s fair to say that Cedar Ridge midfielder Emerson Talley picked up where she left off.

Last season, Talley scored six goals in a 9-0 win over Bartlett-Yancey in Yanceyville. Five days later, Talley notched the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Northwood in Hillsborough. The Red Wolves were 2-2, but the season ended that night because of the pandemic.

To open 2021, Talley scored six goals in a wild 7-6 win over Northern Durham at Red Wolves Stadium on March 24. Thus far in her senior season, Talley has scored 12 goals. That includes a brace against East Chapel Hill in a thrilling game at Dave Thaden Stadium last Monday. The Wildcats won 3-2 in double overtime. Cedar Ridge’s Ianna Pfifer assisted on one of Talley’s goals against the Wildcats.

In her career, Talley has 12 hat tricks for the Red Wolves, even thought the pandemic has greatly shortened her career. As a freshman, she scored a goal in the opening round of the state playoffs as the Red Wolves defeated West Carteret 3-0. Taylin Jean, who now plays at Limestone College in South Carolina, earned the victory in net for the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge will look to return to its winning ways when they host Vance County at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Orange and Cedar Ridge softball: With the quirky way the Big 8 Conference is operating this year in regards to the Big 8 Conference standings, it’s possible the league’s softball championship will be decided tonight at Orange.

As often repeated in other sports, only the first games against conference opponents will count in the league standings (this was the case in men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and men’s tennis). Orange hosts Northern Durham tonight at 6:30 at Orange Softball Field. Both the Lady Panthers and the Knights are 4-0. Orange’s only remaining conference games are against Southern Durham, which has already forfeited games, and Vance County. Orange will play the rest of the league schedule again this month, but they will count only towards the overall record and not the league standings.

Northern rallied to defeat Vance County 7-6 in nine innings on March 23. The Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to win and keep its hopes for a Big 8 Championship alive.

If Orange beats Northern, the Panthers will likely clinch the #1 seed from the Big 8 Conference regardless of what happens against Vance County since they will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Knights.

Last week, the Lady Panthers breezed past Chapel Hill 22-0 in its first road game of the year. Freshman Caden Robinson went 2-for-3 with a 3-RBI double. Robinson also earned the win in the circle. She threw one shutout inning with one strikeout. Freshman Mia Leathers served mop-up duty as she completed the final two innings. She struck out four as Orange completed its second straight no-hitter.

This week, Cedar Ridge will host Vance County on Thursday and Northwood on Friday at Red Wolves Softball Stadium.

Hillsboroughsports.com will broadcast the Orange-Northwood game on Tuesday, as well as Cedar Ridge’s game against Vance County on Thursday. Links for both games can be found on the website. They can also be found on our Facebook page and our Twitter account, @Hboroughsports

The Cedar Ridge men’s tennis team defeated Southern Durham 9-0 on Monday afternoon. Red Wolves sophomore Josh Mayhew improved to 4-1 on the season with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at #1 singles. At #3 singles, senior Will Ballenger won his match 6-0, 6-0. Mayhew and Ballenger also teamed to win at #1 doubles. Cedar Ridge is now 4-2 on the year, which includes a 7-2 victory over Orange on March 22. Last week, Mayhew defeated East Chapel Hill’s Max Winzelberg 6-1, 7-5. Mayhew and Ballenger teamed together to defeat Chapel Hill’s top doubles team, Alex Whang and Wayne Vanderford, 9-7 on March 17. As the season continues, they hope to qualify for the Mideast Regionals as well as possibly clinch a wildcard spot for the 3A State Dual Tennis Tournament later this month. Cedar Ridge will travel to Northwood on Wednesday. The Red Wolves defeated the Chargers 5-4 on March 15.

After the Orange men’s tennis team made the 3A state playoffs for the first time since 2016, three members of the Panthers have been named to the All-Big 8 Conference team.

In addition, two players from Cedar Ridge were honored in the season-ending awards.

Orange’s Colin O’Hagerty, Joshua Van Mater and Ronan Towell were named to the All-Big 8 team. Cedar Ridge’s Cameron Koehler and Grayson Ramos were also named All-Big 8.

Koehler became the first athlete in Hillsborough this season to make All-Conference in two different sports while qualifying for regionals in a third sport. In the fall, Koehler was named All-Big 8 in men’s soccer. In the winter, he joined Devin Bunner, Gabriel Castaneda and John Garcia on a 200 meter relay team that qualified for the Central Regional Swimming Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center with a time of 1:37. 89. He played four different sports at Cedar Ridge. After graduating last month, Koehler plans to major in naval architecture.

O’Hagerty and Towell qualified for the 3A Mideast Regionals after beating a team from Northwood in the Big 8 Men’s Tennis Tournament at East Chapel Hill on April 24.

Van Mater qualified for the Mideast Regionals after pulling an upset over the 3-seed in the opening round 10-8. He defeated a player from Hillside in the 2nd round to advance to the semifinals.

On the final day of the regular season, Orange defeated Northwood 5-4 to finish 3rd in the Big 8 with an 8-4 record. After losing to Terry Sanford in the opening round of the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs, the Panthers finished the season 14-5, its best record in three years.

Orange opened the season with a 6-3 win over Southern Alamance. After losing consecutive matches to East Chapel Hill, the Panthers defeated Eastern Alamance on March 7 to start a four-match winning streak, which helped propel them to the playoffs.