Playing at home against Franklin Academy on Monday afternoon, the Seaforth boys tennis team lost its first dual team match of the season, 8-1. The Hawks had entered Tuesday’s match against River Mill with an overall record of 9-1 and a 7-0 mark in Mid-Carolina Conference play.
Head coach Peter Petrides’ team is young and talented, but they were unable to best the Patriots on Monday. The Hawks were swept in doubles play, and their only point n the day came courtesy of a straight-sets win by junior Walker Magrinat at No. 1 singles.
Magrinat has been on a tear since losing his opening match of the season to Northwood senior Jio Sumogod. Coming into Tuesday’s match against River Mill, the junior had won nine straight matches in singles play and held a 4-1 mark in doubles play.
Other notable performers in Seaforth’s lineup have been junior Felton Burleigh (6-1 singles), junior Owen Strom (7-1 singles) and sophomore Henry McFall (6-2 singles).
Jordan-Matthews has been the second-best team in the Mid-Carolina Conference this season with a 6-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in league play. The Jets came into Tuesday’s match against Chatham Central having won five or their past six dual team matches.
The top singles player for Jordan-Matthews this spring has been senior Paul Lujan, who was also a key player for the Jets’ boys soccer team in the fall. Lujan had a 7-2 singles record coming into the week on top of a 4-2 doubles record.
Fellow seniors Ricardo Rocha Benitez and Angel Gonzalez Suarez were also 7-2 in singles play, and as a team in doubles they have a record of 6-3.
Chatham Central came into Tuesday’s match with the Jets with a 1-5 overall record, though they won their most recent match, 5-4, against Chatham Charter on March 28. In the win over the Knights, the Bears rallied to win three matches in third-set tiebreakers after dropping the doubles point.
Chatham Central and Chatham Charter also met Wednesday. The match occurred after press time.
Northwood, meanwhile, was 5-7 overall and 4-2 in league play coming into Wednesday’s match against Jordan High (Durham). The Chargers defeated Cedar Ridge, 5-4, on Monday and look like they’ve settled into a groove after a 2-5 start to the year.
The Chargers had two players with winning records in singles play entering the week — senior Matteus Butler (6-5) and senior Ragul Ramesh (7-5). In doubles play, Butler and Sumogod had a record of 6-4.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.