In an effort to beat the thunderstorms that were forecasted for Wednesday afternoon, all matches in the South Mountain Conference’s 3A tennis tournament were moved up to Tuesday at Patton High School.
Five Freedom players took advantage of being able to stay in Morganton for the event, each earning a bid for next week’s 3A West Regional tournament.
In doubles’ action, it was an all-Patriot final pitting the No. 1 seeded team of Matt Weider/Drew Rhodes versus their Freedom teammates Juan Hernandez/Ian Smith. Weider/Rhodes coasted to a 6-1, 6-1 victory, but all four players will be in the doubles draw for regionals, which will be co-hosted by Patton and Freedom on May 6-7.
Weider/Rhodes earned a first-round bye Tuesday and downed Burns’ Bryan Melton/Nathan Cook 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals.
Hernandez and Smith, meanwhile, qualified the hard way.
The duo rallied from a one-set deficit in the quarterfinals to beat Patton’s James Watson/Livy Franklin, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. They then snatched victory in a second consecutive three-setter, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, over R-S Central’s Paul Best/Jacob Kinlaw in the semis.
In singles action, Freedom senior Casey Shade was defeated in the championship by No. 1 seed David Schafer of R-S Central, 6-3, 6-1. Still, Shade became the fifth Patriot to grab a regional spot in his effort, which included a first-round victory over Patton’s Aaron Pittman (6-3, 6-1) and a semifinal win against No. 2 seed Michael Page of Burns (7-5, 6-3).
In addition to regionals, Freedom will also continue its season as a unit in the dual team state tournament Tuesday, as the Patriots will host a 3A wild-card selection in the first round.
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