By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE ó Carson and North Rowan have raised their expectations while employing tennis lineups that range from extremely youthful to highly experienced.
Carson, which has three freshmen in its top six, pulled out a 5-4 victory against a senior-laden North team Tuesday.
The Cougars’ top-seeded doubles tandem of Kelly Dulkoski-Carol Brown closed the match with a tiebreaking 8-5 win against Corbin Bennett-Diamond Jackson.
“It’s been nice to see them grow,” said Carson coach Casey White, who receives senior leadership from Julie Tonnesen. “You see some of the younger kids make some of the same mistakes, but it’s always like that until they mature within themselves and the game itself. They’re very positive kids, and we have a good time.”
Dulkoski, Elizabeth Hefner and Hailey Hepler are prep newcomers who have joined another underclassman ó sophomore Hannah Shinn ó in Carson’s lineup. Brown and Jada Holloway are juniors.
Five of North’s starters ó Bennett, Jackson, Kayla Morgan, Haley Ridenhour and Caitlin Crawford ó are seniors. Kelli Berry is a junior.
Carson (3-2 in the 3A North Piedmont) and North (4-1 in the 1A Yadkin Valley) are on pace to finish third in their respective conferences.
“This year is different than any other year that I’ve ever had here at North because as a team we’re so connected, not only do we motivate each other to do better, we actually do better,” Bennett said. “We have been doing a lot better and giving each other confidence.”
Sallie Hundley is in her third year as North’s coach, and the personnel hasn’t changed much in that span of time.
“I feel like I can almost predict what they’re going to do on the court before they do it just from having become so familiar with them,” Hundley said.
The Cavaliers pulled even with Carson following tiebreakers that decided tight matches in singles and doubles.
Jackson remained undefeated at No. 2 singles with a 4-6, 6-4, (10-7) win against Brown. That tied the team score heading into doubles, and Carson’s second-seeded pairing of Shinn-Hefner shut out Morgan-Ridenhour by an 8-0 count. Berry-Crawford then claimed a 9-8 (10-2) victory against Holloway-Hepler at No. 3 doubles.
Dulkoski-Brown held a 5-3 lead at that point, but Bennett-Jackson took the next two games. Dulkoski-Brown won the final three to give Carson its second 5-4 win against a county foe ó it enjoyed the same result against West Rowan.
“I feel good about our team,” White said. “We’ve become more competitive within our area.”
Dulkoski (No. 1), Shinn (No. 3) and Hefner (No. 4) won in straight sets for the Cougars. North’s other individual victories came from Ridenhour (No. 5) and Crawford (No. 6).
Dulkoski, who split sets with East Rowan’s Brittany Honeycutt before dropping a third-set tiebreaker earlier this season, posted a 6-1, 6-4 win against Bennett.
“It’s been tough,” Dulkoski said, “but I’ve just got to get better.”