Are The Stars In Line For The Lady Gryphons?

It doesn't always matter how much talent you have  sometimes it comes down to being good teammates.  Before this year started Rocky Mount Lady Gryphons tennis team returned their top three singles players who were also the top doubles team.  Insert an up and coming sophomore and if you don't look out jealousy can infect the entire team.

Coach Barry Nettercutt inserted sophomore Brenna Bryant as the Lady Gryphon number one player.  That dropped  Chandler Brice to  the number two.  It also leveled last year's number two to fall to the number three player Eliza Fike.  Just maybe it would lead to the breakup of the number one doubles team of Brice and Fike. If all the changes bring on internal  tensions then this year's team just might turn out to be a season of what could have been.

Even if the top three accept their new roles those posing as the 4-5-6 singles and 3rd doubles must also elevate  their play in order to make the Lady Gryphons an elite team so insert as the number four singles Mary Blair Thompson a junior who also dropped a spot in the singles line up.  Sarah Bland junior would ride the five singles and Grace Warren junior would anchor the 6th singles.  These spots also created the third doubles team in Sarah Bland  and Grace Warren.

Coaches all the time talk about senior leadership and this Lady Gryphon tennis team had great leadership all season. Brice, Fike and Thompson all took their spots gracefully.  The second round of the team playoffs is Tuesday at 4pm at the Rocky Mount High court where they will meet Rockingham County 12-2.   So far this season the Lady Gryphons are 13-0  as a team.

Sophomore Brenna Bryant as the one singles went   12-1 on the season.  Chandler Brice stands 13-0 as the number two.  Eliza Fike 9-1 as three singles 9-1.  Number four singles Mary Blair Thompson 8-2,  five singles Sarah Bland 10-0  and the  sixth singles Grace Warren went 9-1.  You add all those scores up and it comes down to a record of 70-6 record by the top six all year.

You take a coach that saw how this team could be better with changes, you add players that accepted their role as what was best for the team.  Then you add what the entire team did  seeing what  role required of them and this team could be playing a couple weeks more in the duels.

But, there is more Nettercutt's changes  the new doubles teams have been as good as the singles.  The Bryant/Brice number one doubles team went 9-1 on the season.  Number two duo of Fike/Thompson went 9-1 and the third team of Bland/Warren went 9-0.  27-2 to go along with 70-6 in singles. No wonder this team has a shot at a state team title but there is yet so much left to do.

This past weekend in the Eastern Regional in Wilson the number one and two doubles team went 6-0 against other doubles teams.  The only loss incurred was when Bryant /Brice beat Fike /Thompson for the regional title.  Finishing second both of Rocky Mount's doubles teams qualify for the doubles championship Friday at 9am at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Rocky Mount has sent teams to the singles and doubles championship before.  This just may be the first time that those in the know Rocky Mount top two doubles teams have a real shot at the state title.  Good luck this week Lady Gryphons.