Mount Airy Lady Bears Tennis: My Site News

After a great 2010 season, in which they amassed a stunning 23-2 record, the Lady Bears begin their pursuit of a 1A state title by starting practice on Monday, August 1st. The Lady Bears advanced to the state championship game for the first time in school history but fell short of a title by losing 5-2 to defending state champions NC School of Science and Math.

The Mount Airy Lady Bears return all 6 starters this season and add several talented young players, who appear poised to challenge the returning starters. Stay tuned...it's going to be a great season! 

The Lady Bears match against East Montgomery has been postponed until Friday at 2pm. The match will still be held at Mount Airy High School.

Mount Airy defeated Elkin 5-1 today to advance to their second straight Regional Final. The Lady Bears will host East Montgomery on Thursday at 4:00pm. Go Bears!

After a successful conference tournament, Mount Airy continued to have strong showings in the regional tournament. Jordan Jackson and Merry Kessler met in the finals yet again, where Jackson won to claim her first regional championship.

Elizabeth Dinkins and Jade Hughes had a great tournament to advance to the finals, where they fell to the East Montgomery team of Delaina Hinson and Samantha Kellis. All four of these Lady Bears qualified for the state tournament. The state championships will be held in Cary, NC on October 29 and 30.

The Lady Bears qualified all six players that they sent to the conference tournament. Jordan Jackson and Merry Kessler (#1 and #2 singles players) met in the singles final, where Jordan Jackson won. Elizabeth Dinkins and Jade Hughes teamed up to make it to the doubles, coming up just short of winning the title and fell in a third set tiebreaker to the North Stokes team of Hayley Pack and cana Rierson. Davi Barbour and Morgan Greenwood had a great showing and qualified for the regional tournament be finishing 3rd in the conference tournament.

The regional tournament will be held at Mount Airy high School starting next Friday afternoon. 

Here are the 1A singles and doubles conference tournament draws:

For the second straight season, the Lady Bears tennis team have clinched the 1A/2A Northwest Conference title with a perfect 16-0 record. Next up for Mount Airy is the Individual Conference Tournament, which will be held this Tuesday and Wednesday at Mount Airy High School starting at 4pm. Good luck ladies!

The Mount Airy Women's Tennis Team has had a remarkable season so far. The Lady Bears are currently 15-1 overall, 11-0 in conference play, and ranked #1 in the state. Way to go ladies! There are 5 more matches left in the regular season and then we will start the team and individual post-season.

In the lastest state polls, the Mount Airy Lady Bears are in sole possession of the #1 spot in the 1A division. Below is the current full poll. Congratulations ladies!

1. Mount Airy                     38
2. NC School of Science and Math  37
3. East Montgomery                32
4. Raleigh Charter                24
5. North Stokes                   21
    Elkin                                21
7. East Wilkes                    14
8. Bishop McGuinness         9
    East Surry                          9
    Gray Stone Day                 9

Others receiving votes:  Riverside-Martin (3).

The Lady Bears defeated North Stokes on Tuesday and Surry Central on Wednesday, both by a score of 9-0. Mount Airy is now 8-1 on the season and 5-0 in conference play. Today, the ladies will head to Bishop McGuinness. The match will be held at Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center in Winston-Salem at 4:00pm.

The Mount Airy Lady Bears are moving up the ranks and have now tied with NCSSM for #1 in the 1A state polls. This surge came after Mount Airy's strong showing at the Twin City Invitational Tournament, where the Lady Bears beat 3A powerhouse Cardinal Gibbons and tough 4A opponent RJ Reynolds.

Week 2- Published 8/31/10

Others receiving votes: Riverside-Martin (3), Spring Creek (3), Chatham Central (1)

Mount Airy won its first conference match of the season against WS Prep tonight, 9-0.

Mount Airy got off to a great start by defeating a very solid 4A Mount Tabor, 8-0.

The Mount Airy Lady Bears are currently ranked #2 in the state in the preseason polls that were published on Friday. The full poll results are listed below. Way to go ladies! Let's get that #1 spot!

Others receiving votes: Riverside-Martin (5), Avery County (4), East Surry (4), Cherryville (2), Rosewood (1), Chatham Central (1), Ayden-Grifton (1)

Well, the 2010 Women's Tennis season is here! The Lady Bears will be looking to defend their Conference Championship from last year. We are bringing back 4 of our top 6 from last season, as well as adding a couple of talented freshmen and one of our top 6 players from two seasons ago who will be rejoining us this fall. It looks to be a very promising season and I am looking forward to working with this great group of ladies once again.

This year we will be changing up the seeding format from previous years. All players will be "pre-seeded" by the coach and split into groups of 4. Each day, all 4 players in every group will play each other. The winner of the group will move up a group, the lowest player in the group will drop down to the next group.

The seeding tournament will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, August 4th and 5th; and will resume again on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 10th and 11th. All of these dates are subject to change due to weather forecasts.

I look forward to seeing everyone together on Monday, August 2nd!

The Mount Airy Lady Bears will have manadatory practices starting August 2nd. However, many of the girls have been coming out and hitting several times a week all summer long. The only way to improve on an 18-2 season is to work hard and play as a team. That's what the Lady Bears hope to do this season!

The Fall 2010 Mount Airy Lady Bears Northwest Conference schedule is now available. Go to "Handouts" to see it, or look under the "Schedule" section.

Mount Airy defeated East Wilkes tonight, 9-0. Below are the individual match results.
 
Jordan Jackson (MA) def. Jessica Taylor (EW) 6-4, 6-1
Ellie Case (MA) def. Amy Hill (EW) 6-4, 6-3
Merry Kessler (MA) def. Rachael Greene (EW) 6-0, 6-0
Elizabeth Dinkins (MA) def. Sonya Billings (EW) 6-0, 6-0
Jordan Gwyn (MA) def. Audrianna Bauguess (EW) 6-1, 6-1
Alex Rigney (MA) def. Kelly Johnson (EW) 6-1, 6-2
 
Case/Gwyn (MA) def. Taylor/Hill (EW) 8-0
Jackson/Rigney (MA) def. Greene/Bauguess (EW) 8-0
Kessler/Dinkins (MA) def. Billings/Kayla Martin (EW) 8-1
 
Mount Airy - 9
East Wilkes - 0

The Lady Bears will travel to Newland, NC next Tuesday to face Avery County.

Congratulations to Jordan Jackson, Ellie Case, and Jordan Gwyn, as they qualified for the Western Regional Individual Tournament to be held next Friday and Saturday at East Montgomery High School! Way to go, ladies!

Conference tournament results are posted under the "Handouts" section.

This year's conference tournament begins today at 3:30pm. The 1A tournament will be held at Mount Airy High School, while the 2A tournament will be held at Mount Airy Middle School. Come out and support your Lady Bears!

After putting together a 12-1 record in conference play (14-1 overall), the Lady Bears will be the #1 seed coming out of the Northwest Conference heading into the state dual team playoffs.

The 2009 Conference Tournament Draws are now available under the "Handouts" section of the website, as are the All-Conference Selections. The Lady Bears placed 5 of the 15 All-Conference players! Way to go, ladies!!!

Here are the other awards that were given out:

2009 Conference Player of the Year - Megan Shelton (East Surry)

2009 Conference Coach of the Year - Scott Kniskern (Mount Airy)

Mount Airy defeated East Surry tonight, 6-3. The Lady Bears will travel to West Stokes on Monday to try and win their first outright conference championship since 1995. Below are the individual match results from tonight.

1.         North Carolina School of Science and Math                  48

2.         Mount Airy                                                                     45

3.         Raleigh Charter                                                               38

4.         Bishop McGuiness                                                          33

5.         East Montgomery                                                           31

6.         North Stokes                                                                   29

7.         Gray Stone Day                                                              16

            East Surry                                                                       16

9.         Elkin                                                                                11

10.       East Wilkes                                                                      6

Others receiving votes: North Rowan (2).

The Lady Bears defeated North Surry tonight, 8-1. Below are the individual match results.

The Lady Bears improved to 11-1 on the season with a 6-3 win over a strong 4A opponent in West Forsyth. Below are the individual match results.

The Mount Airy Lady Bears defeated rival North Stokes 6-3 tonight. The win allowed Mount Airy to take over sole possession of first place in the tough Northwest Conference. Below are the individual match results.

In this week's 1A polls, the Mount Airy Lady Bears are ranked #2 in the state! Below are all of the top 10 standings.

The Lady Bears had a big win tonight, defeating Bishop McGuinness 6-1 at Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center. The win puts Mount Airy in a two-way tie with North Stokes for first place in the conference. Mount Airy hosts North Stokes next Monday. Below are tonight's individual match results.

Mount Airy (6-1, 7-1) defeated North Surry, 9-0. Below are the individual match results.

Mount Airy (5-1, 6-1) defeated East Surry, 7-2. Below are the individual match results.

Mount Airy defeated 4-A powerhouse R.J. Reynolds tonight 5-4. Below are the individual match results.

Below are the most recent standings in the Northwest 1A/2A Conference. Mount Airy is currently in a 3-way tie for 1st place!

Mount Airy defeated West Stokes Thursday night by a score of 9-0. The Lady Bears are 4-1 on the season. Below are the individual match results.

After a loss to North Stokes and a win against Bishop McGuinness, the Mount Airy Lady Bears remain # 3 in the state for a second straight week. Below are all of the top 10.

1            Raleigh Charter                    49

2            North Stokes                       42

3            Mt. Airy                              35

4            Bishop McGuinness             33

5            East Montgomery                28

6  NC  School of Science and Math   26

7          East Surry                              19

8          Gray Stone Day                     18

9          East Wilkes                              8

10        Elkin                                         6

Others receiving votes:  Spring Creek (5), Dixon (4).

The Lady Bears (3-1) defeated South Stokes (2-3) tonight, 9-0. Below are the individual match results.

The Lady Bears had a great win Thursday night, beating rivals Bishop McGuinness 6-3. Below are the individual results.

North Stokes def. Mount Airy tonight 6-3. Below are the match results.

The week 1 polls came out this morning and have the Lady Bears ranked number 3 in the state 1A polls. Below are the top 10 rankings.

1          Raleigh Charter                                 47

2          Bishop McGuinness                          38

3          Mount Airy                                        35

4          East Wilkes                                        23

5          East Montgomery                             22

            North Stokes                                      22

7          N.C. School of Science and Math     20

8          Gray Stone Day                                 17

9          Spring Creek                                      12

10        East Surry                                           9

Others receiving votes: Bear Grass (4), Elkin (3), Dixon (3), Avery (1).

The Mount Airy Lady Bears won their opening match against Surry Central 9-0. They prepare to take on North Stokes tomorrow at North Stokes.

The regular season is here! We start with a very challenging week. Surry Central at home Monday, away at North Stokes Tuesday, and hosting rival Bishop McGuinness on Thursday. Come out and support us this week!

Congratulations to all of the girls. You all did great!

Here are the top six seeds to start the 2009 season:

1) Jordan Jackson

2) Ellie Case

3) Merry Kessler

4) Elizabeth Dinkins

5) Jordan Gwyn

6) Jade Hughes

Good luck to all of you this season. We get started tomorrow with a scrimmage against Elkin.

Well, we are halfway through this season's sedding tournament. Two more rounds to go! Also, our first match of the season is a scrimmage this Thursday at Elkin. We will be meeting at 3:15pm by the tennis courts. Once we are done, we will stop for dinner on our way back. Good luck to everyone in the rest of your seeding matches!

Starting this Tuesday, June 9th at 3:30pm we will have open hitting sessions for anyone wanting to play tennis this fall. We will have these sessions every Tuesday and Thursday throughout the summer. Please check the schedules section for specific time, which are subject to change as the summer moves on. If anyone has any questions, feel free to give me a call anytime.

The 2009 women's tennis schedule has been updated under the "Schedules" section of the website. There will certainly be some modifications and additions over the next several months, but this will at least give everyone a starting point. I am very excited about next fall's tennis season and look forward to seeing all of you soon!

I just wanted to say thank you to all my players, parents, and fans for an incredible season. It was certainly a learning experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every one of you, and look forward to more to come next season. (What?!?! You thought you'd get rid of me that easily?!?!)

Scott Kniskern

"Coach K"

Here are the results of Maggie McKee, Ellie Case, and Jordan Gwyn.

Maggie McKee finished # 2 in the 1-A State Championship Tournament this weekend in Cary, NC. Maggie won her quarterfinal match against Carolina Chandler (Raleigh Charter) 6-3, 6-0. In the semifinals, Maggie defeated Elizabeth Davis (Bishop McGuinness) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Maggie lost her final tennis match of her high school career in the finals, losing to Danielle McGee (Topsail) 2-6, 5-7. Maggie finished this season with an impressive 23-6 record.

Ellie Case and Jordan Gwyn finished # 4 in the 1-A State Championship Tournament. Case/Gwyn defeated Liz Lyons/Kendre Kesler (Topsail) in the quarterfinals 7-5, 6-3. In the semifinals, Case and Gwyn lost to eventual state champions Jessie Elmore/Brianna Fulp (East Wilkes) 6-2, 6-2. Finally, in the 3/4 playoff, Case and Gwyn lost to Lori Wang/Margaret Gaines (Raleigh Charter) 6-3, 6-2. Ellie Case and Jordan Gwyn finished their junior seasons with a 19-8 record.

Maggie McKee (Mount Airy) qualified by winning the Western Regional Singles Championships. She will be the #1 seed from the Western Region at the state tournament.

Ellie Case / Jordan Gwyn (Mount Airy) place 3^rd at the Western Regional Doubles Tournament. 

All three players qualified to participate in the 2008 1-A State Championships, which will be held in Cary, NC next Friday and Saturday.

After that first week of the regular season, the Mount Airy Lady Bears are ranked # 2 in the state in 1-A! Below are the rest of the rankings:

Week 2: August 25, 2008

Others Receiving Votes: East Surry (9), Williamston (7), Hendersonville (2), Gates County (1), Wallace-Rose Hill (1)

Here are our results from tonight. Mount Airy def. Bishop McGuiness 5-4

Singles

# 1: Elizabeth Davis (BM) def. Maggie McKee (MA) 7-5, 6-4

# 2: Ellie Case (MA) def. Emily Ciriano (BM) 7-6(2), 5-7, 7-6(5)

# 3: Jordan Gwyn (MA) def. Natalie Curnes (BM) 6-2, 6-1

# 4: Merry Kessler (MA) def. Hilary Kenney (BM) 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2

# 5: Samantha Donathan (MA) def. Marie Petrangeli (BM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

# 6: Christian Varnier (MA) def. Arielle Dixon (BM) 7-5, 6-3 

Doubles

# 1: Elizabeth Davis/Emily Ciriano (BM) def. Ellie Case/Jordan Gwyn (MA) 10-7

# 2: Natalie Curnes/Hilary Kenney (BM) def. Maggie McKee/Christian Varnier (MA) 8-6

# 3: Marie Petrangeli/Arielle Dixon (Bishop) def. Merry Kessler/Samantha Donathan (MA) 8-5

Mount Airy’s record is now 13-5 overall and 12-4 in the conference.