A historic season is over for Panther women’s tennis.
After playing in the 3A State Doubles Championship Oct. 27, Laura Holland, Lydia Holland, Logan Guynn and Maci Stork had little time to rest, returning home for the Dual Team State Quarterfinals just three days later. In upsetting top-seeded North Lincoln, Franklin advanced to the State Semifinals, where they fell to Lake Norman Charter to end one of the best years in program history.
After beating No. 5-ranked Atkins 5-3 in the round of 16, on Oct. 30 the Panthers traveled to North Lincoln to take on the 3A West’s No. 1-ranked team. In a rematch of Franklin’s 5-1 win in last year’s State Quarterfinals, both teams looked evenly matched early on, each claiming three out of six singles matches to enter the doubles portion in a dead heat.
Exactly one week after defeating Lulu King and Natalie Gore in the 3A West doubles semis, Stork met King once again in the No. 3 match, this time with King winning narrowly 7-5, 6-4. Gore and top Knights player Emma Carver won convincingly at Nos. 1 and 2.
Franklin dominated Nos. 4-6 however, led by blowout wins at No. 4 from Laura Holland (6-0, 6-3) and at No. 5 from Guynn (6-1, 6-2). At No. 6, Lydia Holland won a hard-fought first set 7-5, then cruised to a 6-2 win in Set 2.
Tied 3-3 after singles play, the contest’s outcome rode on its three doubles matches, where Carver and Gore earned a razor-thin 9-7 win at No. 1. Franklin’s 3A West Doubles Finalists took care of business however, with Stork/Guynn winning 8-4 at No. 2 and the Hollands shutting out their No. 3 opponents 8-0. The 5-4 victory over the region’s No. 1-ranked team highlighted the talent on Franklin’s roster from top to bottom.
In defeating North Lincoln, the 18-0 Panthers advanced to the State Semifinals Nov. 1, where they traveled to meet a familiar foe in Lake Norman Charter near Charlotte. After beating Franklin in the 2021 Quarterfinals and 2022 Semifinals, Lake Norman entered the contest with a 22-0 record and the No. 2 seed in the 3A West.
The Knights lived up to their billing in singles, winning four of six matches in convincing fashion. At No. 3, Stork played the match of the day for Franklin, taking a razor-thin third-set tiebreak 6-4, 2-6, (10-8). At No. 5, Guynn also needed three sets to dispatch her opponent, winning 7-5, 1-6, (10-5).
Needing one more win to complete the Dual Team victory, Lake Norman took care of business in doubles, claiming the top two matches to end the contest. At No. 3, the Holland sisters went out with a bang, as Franklin’s 3A West Doubles Champions earned the team’s last win of the year 8-5. The 6-3 loss ended the greatest two-year run in program history, including two 3A West Doubles titles and two trips to the State Semifinals.