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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Davie’s three tennis players bowed out in the second round in the Midwest Regional at Edgemoor Park in Mooresville on Oct. 20, but there was a lot to be proud of.

“14-2 with regional qualifiers in a ‘down’ year, I think that says some pretty good stuff about our program,” Ferebee said.

In singles, junior Elliot Newsome thumped her first-round opponent 6-2, 6-2.

“The girl did not have a conventional game,” Ferebee said. “Once Elliot figured that out, she won (easily).”

In the first round in doubles, sophomore Bailey Aderhold and freshman Corbin Drum lost the first set 7-5. They could have wilted right there. Instead, they took the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 to advance.

“Corbin and Bailey had never been to regionals and they lost their first set,” Ferebee said. “I said: ‘We’ve got to come back like we did in the conference tournament, and they rolled (from there). I was really proud of them for being a freshman and sophomore and their first time in the regional. They buckled down and did not get scared of the moment.”

While Newsome and Aderhold/Drum could not get past the quarterfinals, they played their hearts out in defeat. Newsome lost 6-0, 6-1 to the No. 1 seed. Aderhold/Drum lost 6-0, 6-0 to the No. 2 seed from Lake Norman.

“(Newsome) did not win, but there were parents from other schools that walked up to me and said: ‘Is that your No. 1? She is really, really good,’” Ferebee said. “It was parents from schools that we don’t even compete against. That tells you how well Elliot was playing.”

Davie’s doubles team offered more resistance than the scores suggest. It was no small feat for a freshman and sophomore to advance to this stage, especially when you consider they had only played four matches together before traveling to Mooresville.

“That team (from Lake Norman) made the finals,” Ferebee said. “The score did not look good, but four or five games went to deuce. If they get a point here or a point there, it would’ve been something like 3-6, 3-6. For a freshman and sophomore to be playing their sixth match together, I’m really happy with how they played and how they fought and did not quit. It sounds like they got blown out in 20 minutes, but it was about an hour-long match. They were in points; they were not getting winners smacked on them. They were not getting aces smacked against them. They were playing hard, but those girls are a junior and a senior who have played together for a while.”

It was another one-for-the-books season for Ferebee’s War Eagles. Newsome went 17-5 in singles and 26-5 in singles/doubles. Aderhold/Drum won five of six doubles matches as partners. Aderhold went 13-1 in all her doubles and 26-4 in singles/doubles. Drum went 13-2 in all her doubles and 27-4 in singles/doubles.