Two 1A schools joined the list of N.C. High School Athletic Association members who can claim individual girls tennis champions.
Highland Tech was one of those two as Madison Darnell made school history with a 7-5, 6-2 win over NCSSM-Morganton’s Manya Nallagangu. Nallagangu — who had won the regional singles title that Darnell was a part of — was hoping to be the Dragons’ first individual champ in any sport.
The other first-timer was Triangle Math & Science, whose doubles team of Brianna Viets and Sasha Korjova downed Mount Airy’s Carrie Marion and Ella Brant 6-1, 6-1 in the final. They are the first Tigers players to win an individual girls tennis title.
Marion, a senior, won the 1A singles title last year and the doubles title the year before with Brant.
The first and second rounds of the NCHSAA 1A individual championships were played Friday, and finals were Saturday at the Cary Tennis Center. Since 1A is the only classification with just eight qualifiers, there were only three rounds of play.
There are also only two regionals in 1A girls tennis: East and West.
In singles, all four semifinalists came from the West, including regional champ Nallagangu and regional runner-up Darnell. Darnell faced teammate Katelin Vaher in the semifinals after Vaher eliminated 1A East regional champ Elphie Spillman in the first round. Vaher was fourth in the 1A West, while fellow semifinalist Nina Holton of Bishop McGuinnes was third.
In doubles, Viets and Korjova were the only East regional team to make it to semifinals. East Wilkes’ Ava Darnell and Emerson Simmons were 1A West regional champs but, unlike in regionals, could not get past the Mount Airy duo. Rachel Flynn and Sonya Rhoades of Gray Stone Day, the 1A West runner-ups, lost to Korjova and Viets in the semis.
1A Girls Tennis Results
SINGLES: First Round
Katelin Vaher (Highland Tech) def. Elphie Spillman (Chatham Charter) 6-3, 6-1
Madison Darnell (Highland Tech) def. Mak Allen (Chatham Charter) 6-0, 6-0
Manya Nallagangu (NCSSM-Morganton) def. Rebecca Kirby (Eno River Academy) 6-0, 6-0
Nina Holton (Bishop McGuinness) def. Olivia Ess (Roxboro Community) 6-1, 6-0
SINGLES: Semifinals
Madison Darnell (Highland Tech) def. Katelin Vaher (Highland Tech) 6-0, 6-1
Manya Nallagangu (NCSSM-Morganton) def. Nina Holton (Bishop McGuinness) 6-0, 6-1
SINGLES: Championship
Madison Darnell (Highland Tech) def. Manya Nallagangu (NCSSM-Morganton) 7-5, 6-2
DOUBLES: First Round
Brianna Viets/Sasha Korjova (Triangle Math & Science) def. Ananya Sririam/Will Levin (NCSSM-Morganton) 6-0, 6-1
Rachel Flynn/Sonya Rhoades (Gray Stone Day) def. Abby Winslow/Betts Roney (Eno River Academy) 6-1, 6-1
Ava Darnell/Emerson Simmons (East Wilkes) def. Rachel Albright/Lauren Caviness (Chatham Central) 6-3, 6-0
Carrie Marion/Ella Brant (Mount Airy) def. Karli McKenna/Katelyn Hutson (Voyager Academy) 6-0, 6-0
DOUBLES: Semifinals
Brianna Viets/Sasha Korjova (Triangle Math & Science) def. Rachel Flynn/Sonya Rhoades (Gray Stone Day) 6-1, 6-0
Carrie Marion/Ella Brant (Mount Airy) def. Ava Darnell/Emerson Simmons (East Wilkes) 6-3, 6-5
DOUBLES: Championship
Brianna Viets/Sasha Korjova (Triangle Math & Science) def. Carrie Marion/Ella Brant (Mount Airy) 6-1, 6-1
