Sep. 27—Southern Lee tennis drew the toughest assignment in the Sandhills Athletic Conference in each of its past two matches, dropping back-to-back matches to two-time defending SAC champion Pinecrest on Thursday and Monday.
The Patriots won both matches 8-1. In both instances, Southern’s No. 2 doubles team of Carrie Ellen Bryan and Evie Eller scored a win for the Lady Cavaliers, who are 5-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play. Both of these matchups played out the same, with Bryan and Eller beating Pinecrest’s Emma Medina and Dylan Macrae 8-2.
On Monday, Pinecrest swept the singles matches, with Southern winning more than one game in just one of them. Going down the order, Estelle Kirkpatrick defeated Kate Jackson 8-0, Livia Pratt downed Eller 8-1, Sophia Pandich beat Blaire Young 8-0, Gabby Hooper topped Bryan 8-4, Maddie Mattis defeated Logan Hickman 8-1, and Eliza Haye beat Gina DeCerbo 8-0.
In doubles, Kilpatrick and Pratt beat Jackson and Young at the top of the order. At No. 3 doubles, Chloe Beane and Ella Boals of Pinecrest topped Hickman and Brooke Burrus 8-2.
Two exhibition doubles matches were also played, both won by the Patriots. McKinley Graham and Natalia Bernazani beat Lexie Martinez and Lily McLeod 8-2, and Elliott Sutton and Olivia Sullivan defeated Maronie Petty and Brianna Rivera 6-2.
Thursday’s results, when the teams played at Southern, were closer. In singles, Young and Pandich met at No. 3 singles with an 8-4 result for the Patriots; and Bryan, playing at No. 4, hung in almost to the end for an 8-6 loss to Mathis. Hickman and Burris teamed up at No. 3 doubles and lost 8-5 against Graham and Bernazani.
Southern visited Hoke on Tuesday and will face them again here on Monday.
