Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Seemingly impossible things happen every week for Davie’s tennis team.

Before last week’s home match against Reynolds, the War Eagles had breathtaking wins over Reynolds (6-3 score), Reagan (5-4) and West Forsyth (5-4).

They hosted the Demons on Sept. 15. Plugging away, clawing and fighting, they pulled out yet another hairbreadth win, 6-3.

The win over West and the second win over Reynolds came without their No. 1 player, Karlie Quinn, who is out with an injury. Their records of 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Central Piedmont Conference defy explanation.

“This was probably the closest match we’ve had,” coach Collin Ferebee said. “It wasn’t 5-4, but a point here or a point there could have changed the whole thing.”

Freshman Elliot Newsome, who has moved from two to one in Quinn’s absence, was flat-out tremendous in a 6-0, 6-0 win over senior Lia Blackard. Newsome’s record is 6-1.

“I knew Elliot could win, but I thought it would be a battle because Lia is a good player,” Ferebee said. “She was rolling her around the court. It was the best I’ve seen Elliot play all year. Talk about stepping up.”

At No. 6, Leslie Newsom took care of business 6-3, 7-5. The other four Davie victories were adventures.

At No. 3, Whitney DeLoach won the first set before falling apart in the second set. She righted the ship and won the tiebreaker. The scores were 6-2, 0-6, 13-11 as she ran her season-long winning streak to six.

“Whitney didn’t play well at all in the second set,” he said. “(Reynolds’) Sarah Rhoades stepped her game up. I said: ‘Look, it was the same thing against West Forsyth. Go out there and win the tiebreaker.’ She buckled down and got it done.”

At No. 5, Abby Fletcher lost the first set before digging deep and finding the resilience to ultimately prevail in the tiebreaker. The scores were 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 as she remained unbeaten at 4-0.

“Abby was getting a little frustrated in the first set,” Ferebee said. “We talked at the set change. I said: ‘Look, this is the same place you were at last week. You can do it.’ She put a smile on her face even though she didn’t want to, and she buckled down and got another huge win for us.”

The doubles wins were equally important. No. 2 Newsome/Newsom and No. 3 Sarah West Marklin/Fletcher found themselves in high-stress situations. Both pairs prevailed 8-6. Newsome/Newsom are riding high at 5-0.

“Reynolds definitely gave us a fight, which we knew they were going to do,” he said. “We just happened to be on the good end of it.

“Once again, it’s a testament to how hard these girls have worked. They lose Karlie and we’ve still won two big matches. So it’s not just Karlie; it’s a team effort.”

Notes: Reynolds slipped to 4-4, 3-3 in the CPC. … Quinn has been a terrific teammate during her injury. “Even though she’s not been able to play, she’s been there supporting,” Ferebee said. “That says a lot about her.” … Two days before the Reynolds match, Davie raced past winless Glenn in Kernersville. Newsome (6-0, 6-0), Tru Koren (6-0, 6-2), DeLoach (6-0, 6-0), Marklin (6-0, 6-0), Fletcher (6-0, 6-0) and Newsom (6-1, 6-1) won in singles. Cat Rosser/Gabby Thompson, Allison Plott/Olivia Swisher and Ali Cranfill/Mattie Barnette outscored Glenn 24-1 in doubles.