Gryphons survive scare from 'Vikes

The tennis ball ripped into the net for the final time, and immediately Rocky Mount High players began to scream while parents sighed in relief.

That was the scene at the conclusion of the third doubles match Wednesday at Sunset Park, where Rocky Mount’s No. 5 seed Margaret Arroyo and sophomore Elizabeth Thompson paired to earn the Gryphons’ fifth point.

The deciding match pushed the Gryphons to a 5-4 victory against Cameron Union Pines in the second round of the NCHSAA 3-A state girls’ tennis playoffs.

“I woke up this morning with a nervous feeling in my stomach,” Rocky Mount coach Barry Nethercutt said. “The more I looked at who (the Vikings) had beaten, the better they looked. Their No. 1 seed made it all the way to the state finals last year, and their No. 2 seed doubles team made it to the regional finals. As tough as the competition is to get to those spots, I knew they were a good team.”

The Gryphons led 4-2 at the start of doubles play, but that advantage quickly dissolved thanks to a pair of Vikings wins.

Both the Gryphons No. 1 and No. 2 teams stepped off the court without a win, leaving the match in the hands of Arroyo and Thompson.

“I knew when the other two teams walked off the court the match was up to us,” Arroyo said. “I just tried to stay as calm as possible, because I knew if I let myself get nervous I wouldn’t perform well.”

The pair won three straight games after they trailed 7-6 to Union Pines’ No. 5 seed Laura Cameron and No. 6 seed Brittany Jones. Following a Vikings victory, which pulled the match to a 9-8 score, the duos played to deuce. Arroyo sent a shot down the left line that neither Vikings player could reach. Thompson returned a serve on the next point that Jones made contact with, but sent directly into the net.

“Me and Margaret knew we had to stay positive,” Thompson said. “Every little point matters and we just kept believing that.”

The victory places the Gryphons into the third round of the playoffs, where they will meet Big East Conference foe Wilson Fike.

The squads split their regular-season meetings.

Rocky Mount and the Golden Demons will play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Barton College.

“We just need to come out intense,” Nethercutt said. “We both know each other so there won’t be a lot of strategy involved. The match is really going to come down to who plays the best tennis that day.”

Rocky Mount High 5

Cameron Union Pines 4

Singles: Neena Wanko (CUP) def. Lindsay Thomas 6-1, 6-1; Kate Gray (RMH) def. Melissa Tally 6-2, 6-2; Addie Keeter (RMH) def. Jordan Smith 6-1, 6-4; Madison Kramer (CUP) def. Caroline Nelson 7-5, 3-6, 7-6; Margaret Arroyo (RMH) def. Laura Cameron 6-0, 6-2; Julia Amend (RMH) def. Brittany Jones 6-1, 3-6, 7-6

Doubles: Wanko/Smith (CUP) def. Thomas/Gray 10-8; Tally/Kramer (CUP) def. Keeter/Nelson 10-5; Arroyo/Elizabeth Thompson (RMH) def. Cameron/Jones 10-8