Patriots fall in state championship for second year in a row
APA Girl’s Tennis lost to St. David’s, 5-1 in NCISAA state final
WINSTON-SALEM — Arendell Parrott looked to end the championship run of St. David’s in the NCISAA girls tennis state title match at Salem Academy. However, the Warriors once again prevailed. St. David’s won the overall match 5-1 to win its seventh straight title. However, the Patriots still played their best tennis of the season.
They will lose three seniors to graduation. Cameron Jones and Grace Bridge scored the only official win for APA at No. 3 doubles. After St. David’s won No. 1 and 2 singles matches, the Patriots had leads in three of the remaining four singles matches. However, the Warriors took the No. 5singles match to win the championship once again.
“Arden, Anne Grayson, and Blythe have started for me since middle school,” head coach Brad Sauls said of his seniors. “They’re special players and they’ve put so much time out on the court and not just during the season. Their leadership and hard work will be missed and they’re gonna he irreplaceable. It’s sentimental for me because I feel like they’re my daughters.”
While the score was 5-1 in the end, Sauls believes things could’ve ended differently for his team.
“I felt like we competed so hard and if we hadn’t lost our No. 5 singles match it would’ve ended 5-4,” Sauls added. “All we wanted was a chance to win and our girls did a great job all afternoon. It was our best performance of the season.”
Despite the loss, Sauls is confident in the future of the Patriots girls tennis team.
“I feel like with a great offseason, we can absolutely win it next year,” Sauls said. “We have a lot of players returning next season. If they commit to getting better in the offseason, we will definitely be back.”
APA Girl’s Tennis lost to St. David’s, 5-1 in NCISAA state final
WINSTON-SALEM — Arendell Parrott looked to end the championship run of St. David’s in the NCISAA girls tennis state title match at Salem Academy. However, the Warriors once again prevailed. St. David’s won the overall match 5-1 to win its seventh straight title. However, the Patriots still played their best tennis of the season.
They will lose three seniors to graduation. Cameron Jones and Grace Bridge scored the only official win for APA at No. 3 doubles. After St. David’s won No. 1 and 2 singles matches, the Patriots had leads in three of the remaining four singles matches. However, the Warriors took the No. 5singles match to win the championship once again.
“Arden, Anne Grayson, and Blythe have started for me since middle school,” head coach Brad Sauls said of his seniors. “They’re special players and they’ve put so much time out on the court and not just during the season. Their leadership and hard work will be missed and they’re gonna he irreplaceable. It’s sentimental for me because I feel like they’re my daughters.”
While the score was 5-1 in the end, Sauls believes things could’ve ended differently for his team.
“I felt like we competed so hard and if we hadn’t lost our No. 5 singles match it would’ve ended 5-4,” Sauls added. “All we wanted was a chance to win and our girls did a great job all afternoon. It was our best performance of the season.”
Despite the loss, Sauls is confident in the future of the Patriots girls tennis team.
“I feel like with a great offseason, we can absolutely win it next year,” Sauls said. “We have a lot of players returning next season. If they commit to getting better in the offseason, we will definitely be back.”
