Nine Is The Lucky Number for Women’s Tennis

The number 9 has quite a few interesting things about it — 9 is the highest single digit, and the digits in every multiple of 9 always sum to a multiple of 9, among various other mathematical properties. There are nine Muses in Greek mythology, Beethoven wrote nine symphonies, and September is the ninth month of the year and has nine letters. But for Davie County Women’s Tennis, the number 9 meant something quite different after their match away at Mooresville on Tuesday, September 9.

When the War Eagles traveled to the courts of the Blue Devils that Tuesday, the atmosphere was certainly an expectant one. The team headed into the match with a record of 8-0 for the season, eager to increase that number yet again. As the team got off the bus from the long ride and warmed up, numbers were probably at the back of the players’ heads — but not for long. Working hard, Davie ended the match with a win, starting what would be called by some players the “Coincidence of Nines.” The team was now 9-0 for the season. Moreover, the score of the actual match vs. Mooresville was 9-0, which was the ninth 9-0 win for the team during the 25-26 season. The match also happened to be on the ninth day of the ninth month, September. Head coach Collin Ferebee pointed out the interesting nine pattern to the team after the match, but the pattern didn’t just stop there. 

“Interestingly enough, we did it in my 9th season as the Head Coach of the program,” Ferebee said. “‘Nein’ also means zero in German, which is how many matches we’d lost!”

The team has certainly had a successful season thus far — Senior Bailey Aderhold, who has been on the sidelines helping coach the team after an ACL tear earlier in the year, commented on how the “Coincidence of Nines” reflected a greater pattern within the team. 

“It’s honestly pretty crazy how it all lined up with the 9s — winning nine straight matches 9-0 on the ninth month on the ninth day,” Aderhold reflected. “It feels like more than just a coincidence, almost like it was meant to be. I think it really shows how locked in and consistent the team has been all season. From my perspective, the success comes from everyone stepping up and doing their part.”

The resounding success of the season up to that point, which led to the “Coincidence of Nines,” has been rightly earned by the team. Unlike cats, the team didn’t have nine lives to prepare for the season. Having started the season losing three out of six players in the starting lineup due to various reasons, the new and returning players would have to work hard to rebuild. Coming into the season, Ferebee was unsure of what the future might look like.

“Being honest, I was a bit anxious coming into this year having lost Elliot [Newsome], Bailey [Aderhold], and Leah [Gibson],” Ferebee said. “I knew we were going to work hard and play Davie County tennis, but I wasn’t entirely sure what that was going to look like this season.”

As for the details of the actual match vs. Mooresville that added the ninth 9-0 win to the team’s record, Ferebee commented that it wasn’t the team’s best showing.

“Mooresville as a match was, for me as a coach, watching a team not play their best tennis but still win comfortably,” Ferebee said afterwards. “I don’t think it was our finest showing, but even still, we did enough to win the match 9-0.”

Regardless of match specifics, Davie Women’s Tennis has had quite a successful season thus far. Although the digits may not align in the same way they did at the Mooresville match again, the team still has many more matches left before the season ends.

“Regardless of how this season ends, this team has shown what we’re made of,” Ferebee said. “Every single player has contributed to the success of the team, we all support each other in so many ways, and while we might not be the dominant team we were last year, I’m so incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far.”