During an early-season scrimmage at South Rowan, Salisbury High’s Doris Reinholz looked like she might collapse at any second.

The weather was steamy, and Reinholz, an exchange student from Cologne, Germany, where the kind of humidity found in North Carolina is foreign, was wilting in the awful August heat.

Drained after her singles match, Reinholz had to forlornly watch her teammates play doubles with a wet towel and ice packs draped over her head.

But now, just a few weeks later, Reinholz, who plays No. 3 singles for the Hornets, is looking fresh as a daisy even on the muggiest days.

Reinholz (4-0), is, in fact, mugging her opponents. She’s lost only one game in her last six sets.

“The weather — it’s getting better,” said Reinholz, who’s English is quite good — although she occasionally has trouble understanding the Southern American version of the language.

Reinholz’s only tough tilt so far was an 8-4 duel with West Rowan’s Lauren Duffy, who has since become the Falcons’ No. 1.

“Doris is adjusting well to weather and opponents,” said Salisbury coach Bill Lee. “She’ll play even better as she plays better people. She’s used to a much faster-paced game in Germany than what she’s seen so far. She hasn’t faced a lot of people yet who are hitting balls back to her.”

Recently, Lee found the perfect doubles partner for Reinholz in Anita Edwards. The frauleins are 3-0 at No. 2.

The biggest adjustment for Reinholz has been off the court.

Cologne is a metropolis of nearly a million people. It boasts castles, cathedrals, museums and the Rhine River. Its citizens manufacture beer, automobiles and the famous fragrance known as “eau de Cologne.”

That’s led to a bit of culture shock for Reinholz, because Salisbury, even though its citizens have been known to consume beer and try to parallel park autos, doesn’t exactly have castles.

“Oh, I think Salisbury is good,” said Reinholz, showing she may have a future as a diplomat. “But when I want to go shopping, I will sometimes go to Hanes Mall.”

Lee just hopes that when Reinholz isn’t “malling” she’ll be mauling Hornet foes.

Like Salisbury, North Rowan is 4-0. The rivals collide Wednesday at City Park.

The Cavs beat Ledford in their CCC opener last week in a match that was closer than coach Ron Corriher expected it to be.

Corriher had an even closer call recently when he was filming North Rowan’s football game at Scotland County. He was on high when the rain and lightning that halted the game in the fourth quarter hit full force.

“I was on top of a pressbox that reached into the clouds,” said Corriher. “The lightning was all around me. I have to say I felt very close to the Lord that night.”

Worth Roberts’ Mustangs posted an impressive win over Davie last week that showed how much they’ve improved in a short time. Davie came in unbeaten, but ran into an 8-1 buzzsaw.

East’s new No. 5 player, Karen Walser, is rolling. She’s 4-0.

Coach Carol Cozart’s War Eagles were playing super until they became a feast for East.

“We think we have a very good team this year for Davie tennis,” said Cozart. “But East is always good. They’ve got quite a program.”

One of Davie’s early victims was West, which has played as tough a slate as anyone. Coach Mary Ann Martinelli’s team also lost to Salisbury and North, before beating South.

Lauren Duffy, one of the better athletes in the school, has been the big news. She finished in the top 10 in a county cross country meet last week in addition to playing some great tennis.

And in the spring, she’s a soccer standout.

Raiders coach Coral Riley has strong ties to both Salisbury and North.

Doris Reinholz is her sister-in-law, while her brother, Briar Riley, was a soccer star for the Cavs last season.

In addition, Riley has subbed at North and did her student teaching at Salisbury.

“When the Salisbury girls came to South to scrimmage, they told me I should be on their team,” laughs Riley.

New coach Julie Isenhour’s Comets are coming on, but were overwhelmed by Salisbury last week.

“My girls have great attitudes and are working hard,” said Isenhour. “But the Salisbury girls look like they’ve been playing tennis all their lives.”

Isenhour, a recent ASU graduate, got her first win against West Stanly.

Coach Mark Linn’s Wonders lost their opener 9-0 to South.

Linn likes his new on-campus courts, but has learned that playing at school has some unexpected drawbacks.

“There are a lot more distractions at A.L. Brown than there were at Bakers Creek Park,” he said. “Like boyfriends.”

A few seconds later, a couple of cars collided on an adjacent Kannapolis street.

“And traffic accidents,” Linn added ruefully.