Site: Winston-Salem, N.C.
Scores:
Salem 8, Patrick & Henry CC 1
Pfeiffer 5, Salem 4
Records: Salem (1-1) / Patrick & Henry CC (0-2) / Pfeiffer (2-0)
Up Next: Salem at Randolph (Sunday, September 18)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem tennis team opened the 2022-23 season on Saturday, September 17th, by earning an 8-1 victory over Patrick & Henry CC and followed that up with a tough 5-4 setback to USA South Conference rival Pfeiffer when the two clashed in the afternoon session at the Bert Lain Tennis Center on the Salem College campus.
PATRICK & HENRY MATCH RECAP
The Spirits claimed five of their eight points by virtue of default victories. Salem's tandem of Cadence Durham and Emily Griffis picked up an 8-5 win in doubles, defeating Emily Vaught and Bree Tatum.
Durham posted her second win of the match in No. 1 singles with 6-3, 6-2 victory against Vaught. The Patriots' lone point of the match came when Cole posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Griffis in No. 2 singles. However, Salem's Haley Gilley provided the eighth and final point of the match with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Tatum.
PFEIFFER MATCH RECAP
The two USA South Conference rivals met as part of a non-conference match with the Falcons emerging with a close 5-4 win.
Pfeiffer's tandem of Elithe Hudson and Riley Isley grabbed the first match of the day in No. 2 doubles by downing Haley Gilley and McKinley Rice by an 8-3 score. The Falcons snagged their second win in doubles when Megan Rekieta and Alison Sloop downed Salem's Cadence Durham and Emily Griffis by an 8-4 margin.
Salem's Harley Hedrick and Alana Bridges answered with their first point of the season, posting an 8-3 victory against Arianna Avila and Isa Garcia in No. 3 doubles.
Pfeiffer moved its lead to 3-1 win a 6-0, 6-1 victory from Rekieta over Durham in the meeting of No. 1 singles. The Falcons extended their lead after Isley emerged with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph against Griffis in No. 2 singles.
Rice began the rally for Salem after a 6-3, 6-6 (10-7) win against Hudson in the clash of No. 4 singles. Bridges followed with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Delaney Geygan in No. 5 singles. Gilley provided the final Salem point (6-3, 7-5) after downing Sloop in No. 3 singles. The decisive win went to Emily Moore of the Falcons, who came away with an 0-6, 6-2, 10-3 win over Hedrick.
SALEM NOTES
- Salem's five-match winning streak ties for the second-longest in program history. Salem carried over its four-game streak from the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign. The first five-match streak in program history spanned from February 23-March 17, 2011. The longest winning streak in program history for the Spirits (seven matches) lasted from April 5-April 26, 2014.
