The Davie County women’s tennis team has had an exceptional season this year. The team, which came into the season after winning three straight CPC championships, immediately started to make a name for themselves again. The team worked hard during the summer to prepare for the upcoming season, and it paid off.
Davie dominated each regular season match, remaining undefeated in the regular season with a record of 12-0 in CPC matches. Davie’s experienced starting lineup was a huge reason for their success; starting players included 1st seed Elliot Newsome, 2nd seed Corbin Drum, 3rd seed Bailey Aderhold, 4th seed Leah Gibson, 5th seed Kate Chaffin, and 6th seed Casey Cao. Every player on the team put in hard work to contribute to the team’s success, and it showed through their record.
Davie had many notable achievements throughout the season. The team had the second-longest win streak in school history with 15 wins in a row and was only the third team ever to win an NCHSAA playoff match. Seniors Elliot Newsome and Abigail Etter completed 4 straight CPC championships, something that has never been seen in the program’s 49-year history. Both seniors also finished their careers going 57-5, which is the 2nd most wins over 4 years and the highest winning percentage (92%). Newsome ended her high school career with over 100 wins, putting her in an elite category of athletes.
Davie’s success can be attributed to hard work, both on and off the court. Players worked tirelessly to improve and maintain a positive team environment, which greatly paid off during the season. When asked about what each member’s favorite memory of the season was, the players had many fun moments to share. Aderhold said that her favorite memory was the vlogging the team did during senior week (which can be viewed on Instagram @dcwomenstennis, the social media page coach Collin Ferebee runs for the team). Cao said her favorite memory was beating the team’s CPC rival, RJ Reynolds, 8-1 in both matches. Other players said that their favorite memory was senior night or the early morning workouts the team did during the summer.
When asked what made this year’s team successful, players also gave answers relating to their coach or the team environment. Ada Wallace, a junior on the team, attributed their successes to everyone’s hard work and dedication to being at all games and practices.
Other players said that Coach Ferebee’s encouragement and dedication to the team were the reasons for their success. Coach Ferebee, when asked about the season, said that this year’s team did a phenomenal job.
“I have been fortunate enough to be a part of 6 CPC Championships as a coach, but this year’s team truly stands out,” Ferebee said. “I have never seen a team that completely dominated every conference match the way we did this year—especially only needing to go to doubles one time. A large part of this is the senior leadership that Elliot and Abigail brought, but I also think the improvements everyone made down the lineup pushed us to be better. It’s also noteworthy to highlight the freshman class and how they immediately bought in and started working just as hard as the upperclassmen. As Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel once said, ‘We have to remember these days because there’s no guarantee that they’ll last forever! Enjoy them as long as they last.’ And I’ve done my best to appreciate this team, and the past 4 years, as much as I can.”
A Return to Regionals
Davie’s success didn’t stop after winning the regular season championship. On October 18, members of the Davie Women’s Tennis team competed at regionals. Regionals is a tennis tournament where qualifiers compete for a spot in the state tournament. In order to earn a spot at regionals, players must make it to the semifinals of a preliminary round. Qualifying for the tournament requires skill and dedication, which all players from Davie have shown. Davie County had five players who qualified: Elliot Newsome (first-place singles), Corbin Drum and Bailey Aderhold (first-place doubles), and Kate Chaffin and Casey Cao (third-place doubles).
This year’s regional team played above expectations. All players won their first round at the tournament.
“I felt the tournament went well overall,” Ferebee said. “We played hard and competed until the last point. While there were some shots we all wanted to take back, it’s part of the learning experience, and we played well against some tough teams. To have 5 players in the Final 32 of the State is a huge accomplishment that all of the players should be really proud of. I really hoped Elliot would be able to qualify for States her senior year, but she came up just a little bit short. I have no doubt the other 4 will be back next year!”
Although the team lost their second-round matches, senior Elliot Newsome still had an exceptional season. She has been on the team all four years of her high school career and has been playing since she was little. Her effort has been shown throughout her time at Davie High. She is the number one seed in singles with a record of 15 wins and 0 losses. This amazing record has allowed her to commit to Belmont Abbey for women’s tennis. She has had a number of great memories on this team, notably Senior Night where she and Abigail Etter played number-one doubles. She hopes the tennis program will continue to have an abundance of success in the future.
Senior Abigail Etter, though not a regionals competitor, has also been vital to the team’s success all season. She has been on the team all four years as well, starting her tennis career in her freshman year of high school. Before the summer of her freshman year, she had never picked up a tennis racket but had an abundance of support from the team and Coach Ferebee that allowed her to thrive and become better at tennis. Etter’s favorite memory from her time on the team has been winning by such a large margin against teams that they struggled to beat in previous years. She also enjoyed meeting new friends that she wouldn’t have met if she didn’t play tennis. Etter hopes people will continue to try out for tennis even if they’ve never played before. She thinks it is important for everyone to get out of their comfort zone and take the risk of trying something new, just like she did.
All of the regionals players had certain strengths at the tournament. Junior Bailey Aderhold, who played with sophomore Corbin Drum in doubles, spoke of the strengths in her serve and slice.
“My serve had a lot of spin on it, and I tried to place it out wide to displace the returner,” Aderhold said. “My slice has a lot of spin, so it makes it difficult for the opponent to return it.” Junior Casey Cao, who played on Davie’s second doubles team with freshman Kate Chaffin, noted a similar strength in her slice serve and the strokes on her forehand, which she called “exceptional” during regionals.
Though talented, Davie’s players also faced some challenges. For Kate Chaffin, who made the tournament as a freshman, her biggest challenges were more psychological than physical.
“My biggest challenge during the tournament was to not get in my head when I missed a shot or my serve didn’t go as I wanted it to,” Chaffin said. “I wanted to stay focused because we have practiced so hard, so I wasn’t going to give up at that moment.” For senior Elliot Newsome, the mental aspect of the game also presented her with her biggest obstacle. The challenge of overcoming this mental wall has been a perpetual battle.
“I think my biggest challenge during the tournament was maintaining a positive mindset during my matches and staying focused,” Newsome said. “These are things that I have really tried to work on this season, and I’ve gotten better, but there is definitely still room for improvement.”
Overall, Davie faired well in their regional matchups despite their second-round loss. The players put in much effort throughout the season to prepare for this moment, and it paid off. Although no players qualified for the state tournament, the team is optimistic about the opportunities that await them next season as they seek to exceed the high standards they have set for themselves.
