All three local tennis teams fell in the opening round of the 5A and 4A state playoffs Wednesday.
Both Nation Ford and Catawba Ridge lost home matches as Fort Mill fell in their first-round match on the road 5-1 to Spartanburg.
Nation Ford lost 4-3 to Wade Hampton in their opening round match as Ian Drane, Gage Fenbert and Akhil Kanthamneni all got wins in singles matches for the Falcons. Nation Ford lost in No. 1 doubles in three sets to fall in the match. The loss by Nation Ford was their first of the year as they finish the season at 10-1.
Coming into the match, the Falcons had set a state record against in-state competition having not dropped an individual match all season to an in-state opponent winning each match to those opponents 6-0, 6-0. The closest match they had before the loss in the playoffs was a 4-2 win over North Carolina’s Providence Day in their first match of the season in March.
Catawba Ridge fell 6-0 to Eastside in their 4A first-round playoff match. Five of the six matches were straight set losses and only Aiden Liles forced a third set tie breaker for the Copperheads.
Soccer
In 5A boys’ soccer playoff, Fort Mill lost to Dorman 3-0 in their first-round match-up. The loss ends the season for the Jackets who finish at 7-9-2 overall.
AC Flora boys’ soccer defeated Walhalla in the 4A opening round and will travel to Catawba Ridge to play them Friday in the state quarterfinals.
The AC Flora girls’ soccer team also won their opening round 4A playoff game and will play the Catawba Ridge girls today in the state quarterfinals.
Softball
In non-playoff action, Nation Ford beat York 8-4 after clinching the lead in the sixth inning on the road to upend the Cougars. The win puts the Falcons at 12-10 overall as they next play Buford Friday at home.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
