After starting the season by dropping two of its first three Tri-County Conference match-ups, the Vikings have gone on a roll that includes wins over the two teams that defeated them. With an 8-2 conference mark (9-2 overall), Union Pines is sitting in second place in the conference standings, one game behind High Point Central, a team it defeated on the road Thursday.
Joining the Bison in handing the Vikings a loss is Ragsdale, the team the Vikings beat 6-3 at home last Wednesday.
The current streak has long-time Viking coach John Frye reminiscing about some of his early teams at Union Pines. Frye has coached the boys’ team since the 1970s and started with the girls in 1981. In that time he has coached many conference champions, both teams and individuals. He has had individual state champions and has had state championship teams with the boys.
In other words, he knows what makes a team successful.
“We’ve got a lot of young players,” Frye said of his inexperienced 2004 team. “I haven’t faced a challenge like this in quite a few years.”
The Vikings, with no seniors on the team, have certainly responded to the challenge in tearing off the winning streak, which places them in a good position to grab one of the league’s three bids to the state 3-A dual team championships.
Central is sitting on top of the standings, while the Vikings and Ragsdale have two losses each. Ragsdale and High Point Central have to face each other one more time.
Fyre points to the development of his team’s doubles play as the key to the Vikings winning ways.
“Real important to our success has been the improvement in our doubles play,” he said. “We had trouble in doubles earlier in the season, but it was because we hadn’t had time to work on it. The girls are starting to understand the moves and countermoves of doubles and learning to improvise.”
Frye said that the top-six players on the squad have also gotten better in singles as the season progresses.
“They have always hit the ball well,” he said about the top six, “but now they are playing with a lot of confidence and poise. They are putting more pace on the ball and just playing at a more consistent level.”
The top six for the Vikings include juniors Danica Wanko and Amanda Evans, sophomores Katie Kelly, Natasha Whetzel and Kendra Black, and freshman Maura Lenahan.
Wanko, the No. 1 player, is closing in on 100 wins for her career with a record of 86-24, while Kelly, holding down the No. 2 singles slot, is the 44th girl under the tutelage of Frye to break the 50-win plateau. She is 51-7. Lenahan has lost only one time this season in both singles and doubles play.
Joining those six are the Moore sisters — Michelle, Melody and Carolyn — three girls that make Frye think back to his biggest challenge before this season. The three hadn’t even really played tennis before this season, but he noted they were good athletes and had made contributions to the team’s recent success.
“I took over the program in 1981,” he said. “There were a lot of unproven tennis players, but the girls were good athletes. Those girls were really keen on improving their skills. They displayed a work ethic and were adamant about winning. They were perplexed that tennis was so difficult.”
That team finished second in the conference in 1981 and then ripped off two conference championships in a row. Two players, Kim Kelly and Anita Buie, from those early years pulled off something that no one else at Union Pines has ever done. They won a sectional doubles title.
“They had been playing tennis only about one and a-half years,” he said. “They went over to Fayetteville to the Dark Ranch Racquet Club and used their athletic skills to win the title. What made it really special in those days was that there were no classifications. The tournament had the best players from the state, including 1-A, 2-A, 3-A and 4-A.
“I don’t know how far the girls this year will go, but they make me think back to those early years. The most gratifying thing is to see the kids getting better, playing well, having fun and turning into winners.”
Next up for the Vikings will be a conference match at home against Trinity today beginning at 4:30 p.m. Union Pines has three more conference matches left after Trinity.
Union Pines 6, H.P. Central 3
Singles — Allison Brodd (HPC) defeated Danica Wanko 10-1; Katie Kelly (UP) def. Mary Pritchett 10-8; Katie Ross (HPC) def. Natasha Whetzel 10-8; Maura Lenahan (UP) def. Meredith Mills 10-5; Amanda Evans (UP) def. Catherine Magill 10-1; Kendra Black (UP) def. Carlie Blake 10-2.
Doubles — Wanko-Lenahan (UP) def. Brodd-Magill 8-6; Pritchett-Ross (HPC) def. Kelly-Whetzel 8-6; Evans-Carolyn Moore (UP) def. Mills-Blake 8-2.
Exhibition — Melody Moore-Michelle Moore (UP) def. Ashley Reaves-Melissa Cates 8-1.
Union Pines 6, Ragsdale 3
Singles — Kiara Crutchfield ( R) defeated Danica Wanko 10-8; Katie Kelly (UP) def. Paris Sims 7-6 (retired); Natasha Whetzel (UP) def. Nadia Crutchfield 10-2; Maura Lenahan (UP) def. Ashley Reaves 10-8; Annie Swantek ( R) def. Kendra Black 10-2; Michelle Moore (UP) def. Angela Jarvis 10-7.
Doubles — Wanko-Lenahan (UP) def. Crutchfield-Crutchfield 8-3; Kelly-Whetzel (UP) def. A. Jarvis-Alyssa Jarvis 8-4; Ashley Hudson-Leah Farlow ( R) def. Amanda Evans-Carolyn Moore 8-2.
Exhibition — Melody Moore-Michelle Moore (UP) def. Ashley Cates-Grace Kennerly 8-2.
