Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Last year Davie girls tennis three-peated for the third time in its 48-year history.

The War Eagles captured the North Piedmont Conference from 1975-77, they ripped off three straight Central Piedmont Conference titles from 2016-18 and last year they accomplished the three-peat mission.

With eighth-year coach Collin Ferebee bringing back a ton of firepower in 2024, the stars appear aligned for Davie to run the streak to four.

The War Eagles have an obscene 42-4 record during this latest run, including a 37-1 mark in the CPC. They went 14-1 in 2021, 14-1 again in 2022 and 14-2 in 2023.

The door is wide open for Davie because four full-time starters return from 2023. At the top of the ladder is senior Elliot Newsome, who is already a program legend. Heading into her fourth year as the No. 1 seed, her career record in singles is 40-10. She is 33-5 in her doubles career, which means she’s been victorious in 73 of 88 overall matches. Newsome is expected to soon commit to a Division-II college.

“That (college future) tells you what you need to know about Elliot,” Ferebee said. “She’s definitely improved her footwork, and she’s hitting a lot harder this year. It is a noticeable increase in power.”

Corbin Drum went 14-2 at No. 2 as a freshman.

“I would not be surprised if Corbin could play No. 1 at a lot of schools that we play this year,” Ferebee said. “She has not missed a beat since last season ended. She is ready to go and I’m super excited. She is going to be make all of us better by how well she’s playing.”

Bailey Aderhold carries a 35-7 singles/doubles record into her junior year. Last year she teamed up with Newsome in doubles and went 8-0 there. The two-sport athlete just received a basketball offer from Division-II Barton.

“She doesn’t neglect (tennis),” Ferebee said. “I think she had the most 3s in the CPC last year, so she’s obviously an excellent basketball player. But she’s still dedicated to the tennis program, which speaks to who she is as a person.”

Leah Gibson went 14-3 at No. 4 as a freshman. Drum and Gibson achieved a sparkling 8-1 record at No. 2 doubles.

“Leah came in locked and loaded,” he said. “She’s really impressed this summer. She’s added more weapons to her game.”

A breakout player could be junior Casey Cao, who took full advantage of her opportunities last year, going 5-0 in spot duty at No. 6 singles.

“She has improved a ton,” Ferebee said. “Whether she starts full time or not, that is still be to seen because our tryouts aren’t over, but I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t get a lot more time this year.”

Davie could be a dominant force for several more years because the only senior among the returning starters is Newsome and Ferebee watched a solid freshman class roll in this summer.

“I think at some point all of (the freshmen) could be a starter for us – if not as a freshman, at some point in their four years,” he said.

All signs suggest Kate Chaffin and Ola Leszczuk will make a smooth transition from middle school to high school. Chaffin was Ellis’ No. 1 in 2023, while Leszczuk was North Davie’s foremost player.

“Kate is probably going to be leading the (freshman) pack,” he said. “She did phenomenal last year at Ellis in tennis and soccer, and I imagine she’s going to bring more of the same to us at the high school.

“All of (the freshmen) are super competitive and they’re ready to win. But I think Kate and Ola are going to see the most competitive playing time this year because they’ve really shown up this summer and impressed the upperclassmen.”

Notes: The roster includes senior Abigail Etter; juniors Victoria McFarlin, Ada Wallace and Ella O’Toole; and sophomores Bethany Jacobs, Makayla Nguyen and Lena Parsley. … Ferebee’s career record is a robust 80-24. … How much has the program blown up? Ferebee had to make cuts for the first time as 23 showed up for tryouts. “I would like to keep them all around, but I am one person,” he said. “It’s a good problem to have.”