Senior night for the Cedar Ridge girls tennis team was a festive one. The Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange 6-3 to improve to 7-3 and improve its chance for the 3A state playoffs.

The Red Wolves captured all six of the singles matches securing its sixth straight dual match win over Orange. Red Wolves freshman Ivy Garner won at #1 singles 6-1, 6-1. At #2 singles, Olivia Ward won 6-0, 6-1. Senior Kate Milner got a victory at #3 singles 6-2, 6-1. Sophomore Brianna Cellini won at #4 6-1, 6-0. Senior Maddy Werner won 6-1, 6-1 while junior Rachel Quade completed the singles sweep with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

Orange won the three doubles matches, starting with Caroline Branan and Emma Williamson winning 8-2. Payton Clayton and Chandler Woods teamed to take the 2nd doubles match, and the most competitive match of the day, 8-6. Leah Gates and Sara Campbell teamed for the first time to win 8-2.

Orange is now 5-10, 5-5 in the Big 8.

In the 90s, Manchester United’s penchant for securing dramatic victories during added time in the second time became so notorious, it was coined “Fergie Time,” under famed manager Alex Ferguson.

Lately, Orange’s flair for the dramatic has been so apparent, it could garner a nickname of its own.

After R.J. Pherribus (Final Minute Pherribus?) scored with :03 remaining against Chapel Hill last Wednesday, it was hard to imagine something as dramatic the rest of this season, much less the next game.

Then came Monday night against Southern Durham at Panther Soccer Field.

In a game filled with scoring chances on both sides, senior midfielder Luke Wirzba collected a beautiful back angle pass from classmate Ewan McCalum late into overtime. Wirzba finished the chance as the Panthers defeated the Spartans 1-0 for its fifth straight win.

Noah Miller posted his third consecutive clean sheet as Orange took another step towards the elusive winning season. The Panthers are now 8-3-2 overall, 5-1 in the Big 8. Orange is now tied in the loss column with Chapel Hill (6-1) and East Chapel HIll (5-1) for 1st place.

The Panthers are now 5-0-1 at home.

Orange travels to James Armstrong Stadium to face Northern Durham on Wednesday night.

Cedar Ridge bounced back into the win column with a 5-0 victory at Hillside on Monday night. The Red Wolves are now 3-9 overall, 2-4 in the Big 8. The Red Wolves travel to Southern Durham on Wednesday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior Brian Finch, who finished with a time of 18:35.20 at last weekend’s adidas Cross Country Challenge at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary. Finch doesn’t just run as a hobby…he does it daily. All the while, Brian is training for a career in engineering while looking at N.C. State or Virginia Tech as college destinations. Brian is also looking to improve his cross country time even more after running a personal best last weekend under coach Molly Myers.

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WIth its second consecutive winning season and a playoff spot still within reach, the Orange volleyball team put away Hillside thanks to its young lions.

Freshman Chloe Riley and junior Libby Jones had six kills while junior Meg Gattis added four aces to help the Panthers to a sweep of the Hornets on scores of 25-17, 25-5 and 25-11 on Thursday night at Jim King Gymnasium.

Riley had a .273 hit percentage. Senior Faith Foushee finished with 13 digs while sophomore Emma Clements added five stops. Seniors Caroline Compton and Bailey Lucas provided solid passing. Compton finished with 13 assists, while Lucas added 11.

Orange improves to 9-6 4-5 in the Big 8. They host Bartlett Yancey on Monday night.

Cedar Ridge was the latest team to run into the Chapel Hill buzz saw on Thursday, falling 3-0 to the Tigers. Individual statistics from the Red Wolves were unavailable. They fall to 6-8 overall, 2-7 in the Big 8. They will host Orange in a rematch on Tuesday night at 6 o’clock. Orange captured the first match between the two teams on August 31st 3-1.

Our Orange Panther of the Week is Caroline Branan, who is the #1 singles player for the Orange girls tennis team. Branan has been a part of five victories over the past two weeks as Orange has won four of its last five dual matches. In her spare time, Caroline is a violinist for plays everything from Beethoven to Sting to The Who.

Orange Panther of the Week: Caroline Branan

Our Orange Panther of the Week is Caroline Branan, who is the #1 singles player for the Orange girls tennis team. Branan has been a part of five victories over the past two weeks as Orange has won four of its last five dual matches.

The Orange JV put its long winning streak in the line Thursday night and came away with a 37-14 victory over East Chapel Hill. Quarterback/Cornerback Wyatt Jones threw two touchdown passes, ran for another and made two interceptions. Joe Kiger had a strong defensive game while Machai Holt scored a touchdown as the Panthers remain undefeated with Southern Durham coming to town next Thursday.

The Streak Goes On; Orange’s Machai Holt, Joe Kiger and Wyatt Jones Discuss JVs Win over East Chape

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The Orange Girls Tennis team has now won four of its last five dual matches following Thursday’s 9-0 victory over Hillside. Chandler Woods and Leah Gates each earned singles victories. The seniors discussed their improvement over the past few years. Gates, who has a 4.6 GPA, is hoping to attend UNC-Chapel Hill, where her older brother Adam is a senior and is going to the UNC-Duke game this Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

Orange Tennis Players Chandler Woods & Leah Gates Discuss Win over Hillside

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Orange beating Chapel Hill in soccer is one thing, a rare treat for Panther fans as rare as a North Carolina blizzard.

But R.J. Pherribo took drama to a new level on Wednesday night, scoring the game’s only goal with three seconds remaining as the Panthers stunned the Tigers 1-0 in Hillsborough.

It’s just the second time in the last seven years that Orange has defeated the Tigers in boys soccer. The other time was on October 19, 2005, when the Panthers earned a 2-1 win.

Orange goalkeeper Noah Miller earned his second consecutive clean sheet for the Panthers. He also shut out Northwood 2-0 on Monday.

The victory continued a string of close games for the Panthers against teams from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School System. Orange played Carrboro to a 2-2 tie in August, a game that featured the Jaguars earning the equalizer within the final five minutes. East Chapel Hill defeated Orange 2-1 in a defensive battle at Wildcats Stadium.

Orange is now 7-3-2 overall, 4-1 in the Big 8. The Panthers are tied with Chapel Hill and Northerrn Durham for second place.

East Chapel Hill maintains the top spot in the Big 8 after a 7-0 victory over Cedar Ridge in Hillsborough on Wednesday night. The Wildcats are 4-0 in the Big 8.

Next week, Orange hosts Southern Durham on Monday. Cedar Ridge returns to action at Hillside on Monday night.

With each passing win, the Cedar Ridge girls tennis squad inches closer to a spot in the 3-A dual playoffs.

The Red Wolves improved to 7-3 on the season with a 6-3 victory over Northwood in Pittsboro on Wednesday. Cedar Ridge earned victories in the top three singles matches, with freshman Ivy Garner efeating Sam Sparrow 6-2, 6-2. Olivia Ward claimed defeated Clarice Atkins 7-5, 6-4 at #2 singles. Kate Milner earned a 6-3, 6-4 win at #3 singles.

Madeline Werner claimed Cedar Ridge’s fourth singles win at #6, defeating Suzanne Earnshaw 6-4, 6-4.

Garner and Ward ensured Cedar Ridge would win the dual match when they won the #1 doubles match 8-5. Milner and Briana Cellini teamed for a win at #2 doubles by a score of 8-5.

There’s no rest for the Red Wolves. They travel to Chapel Hill this afternoon for their 2nd meeting against the Tigers this season. The first showdown two weeks ago was contentious, featuring words uttered by a Chapel Hill player during a heated match that created controversy and a discussion between the two coaching staffs as the day drew to a close.

Also on Wednesday, East Chapel Hill maintained its undefeated conference record with a 9-0 victory over Orange at Lindsay Linker Tennis Courts. The Wildcats, in its first season in the Big 8 Conference, are in first place in the conference with a 6-0 record.  East, coached by former Orange and Stanford tennis coach Nick Walker, dropped only six games in the nine matches to end Orange’s three-match winning streak.

The Orange doubles team of Chandler Woods and Leah Gates came to closest to winning for the Panthers, dropping the match to East’s Ellie Cubrilovic & Caroline Cai 8-3.