Roundup: FCS netters win nailbiter over rival RMA

The Faith Christian School girls’ tennis team continued its late-season surge by winning is third match of the week, a 5-4 nailbiter over rival Rocky Mount Academy at home on Senior Day.

FCS improved to 6-9 overall and 3-5 in the Coastal Plain Independent Conference, while RMA fell to 6-9 overall and 4-4 in league play.

The Lady Patriots were down 2-1 after doubles after the No. 3 duo of senior Madison Mericle and seventh-grader Ava Kelly defeated Anna Plonski and Theia Dietz by a 9-7 score. The Eagles picked up doubles triumphs from the No. 1 team of Katie Kos and Sarah Dunn Sawyer (8-1 over senior Savannah Denton and Nora Morningstar) and No. 2 pairing of Maggie Paszek and Elle Jenkins (8-3 over Avari Kirkland and Afton Joyner).

Faith Christian then had to win four of the six singles matches.

No. 4 Joyner, a senior, won her match over Jenkins 5-7, 3-0 when Jenkins retired midway through the second set.

Mericle won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 5 singles over Dietz while Kelly secured a 6-4, 6-0 win over fellow seventh-grader Mia Lanfranchi at No. 6 singles.

RMA found success at the top of the lineup (No. 1 Kos over Denton 6-3, 6-3 and No. 2 Sawyer 6-2, 6-0 over Morningstar).

With the match tied at 4-all, the deciding tally came from Faith’s No. 2 player, Avari Kirkland, who defeated Paszek 7-5, 6-4 to secure the team victory for the home team.

• C.B. Aycock 6, Rocky Mount 3: The Gryphons suffered a Big East 5A/6A Conference loss to the Golden Falcons on Thursday in Pikeville. Winners for Rocky Mount included No. 2 singles Alyanna Davenport (6-4, 7-5 over Mallorie Spriggs), No. 5 Lennox Langley (6-4, 4-6, 10-7 third-set tiebreaker over Lexie Valdiviezo) and the No. 2 doubles team of Langley and Sadie Williams (8-3 over Emma Keim and Valdiviezo).

• McKeel wins again: Faith Christian’s Emerson McKeel took first place with a season-best time (20:32) while Samantha Joyner was third (22:26), also with a season-best time for the Patriot girls in a Coastal Plain Independent Conference meet at Boyd Park in Greenville. FCS finished second overall with 33 points as Stella Schank was 17th (26:01) and Regan Garrett was 18th (26:07) with career personal-bests. For the FCS boys, Ethan Carr placed eighth overall (19:24) while Luke Roberts was 29th (24:32) and Chance Pridgen 31st (season-best of 24:38) as the Patriots garnered fifth place with 115 points.

• RMP’s Wilson takes second: Rocky Mount Prep’s Xvavier Wilson turned in a second-place performance (18:46) while North East Carolina Prep’s Saveon Carter picked up fourth place during an East Carolina 1A Conference meet held on Oct. 7 at North Carolina Wesleyan University. Devyion Harris was the top runner for the North Edgecombe boys (12th in 22:40). NECP won the team title 20-42 over RMP. In the girls’ race, the top runners were Desiree McClary of NECP (second in 22:58), Nakiyah Wilson of RMP (third in 23:26) and Kamariah Vinson of North Edgecombe (fifth in 25:09).

• Northern Nash 3, Rocky Mount 0

• Wake Prep 3, Nash Central 1

• Washington 3, SouthWest Edgecombe 1

• Rocky Mount Prep 3, Washington County 1

• North East Carolina Prep 3, North Edgecombe 0

• North Johnston 4, SouthWest Edgecombe 0

• Bear Grass Charter 4, North East Carolina Prep 2