Panther women’s tennis had little to improve on last week.
After suspending their contest with Tuscola due to rain five days before, Franklin faced a busy week of Sept. 23, including the remainder of their contest with Tuscola and full matches with Pisgah and North Henderson. With 9-0 wins in each, they improved to 10-1 overall and 10-0 in the Mountain Seven, with just two more contests standing between them and their third straight conference title.
On Sept. 18, Tuscola traveled to Franklin to rehash their 8-1 loss to the Panthers Aug. 21. In singles play, the rematch started quite similar to the teams’ first meeting, with all six top Panthers cruising to blowout wins in their first sets. This included senior Kate Phillips’ 6-0 win in the #1 match over reigning Conference Champion Sierra Sellars, after falling to Sellars in both last year’s Conference Final and earlier this fall.
Sellars regrouped to start the second set however, winning its first two games before heavy rain suspended the match. Both teams agreed to resume the contest on the Mountaineers’ home court Sept. 23, with Franklin planning a stop in Waynesville en route to their previously scheduled match at nearby Pisgah.
Phillips kicked back into gear on Day 2, coming back to tie the second set 6-6 and force a match tiebreak. There she stayed neck-and-neck with Sellars the rest of the way, but won by the narrowest of margins 8-6 to claim the match.
Besides Phillips, no other Panther dropped more than four total games in singles, with Abigail Angel (#2), Maci Stork (#3), Clara Stork (#5) and Marlee Barnes (#6) each losing one or less. Franklin looked even more dominant in doubles, winning all three matches 8-0 to complete the 9-0 sweep.
After dispatching Tuscola, the Panthers continued on to Canton to rehash their 9-0 rout of Pisgah Aug. 26. There Franklin took care of business once again, winning all nine matches in blowouts for their second 9-0 victory of the evening.
On Tuesday the team changed their plans due to rain once again, moving Wednesday’s planned trip to North Henderson up a day to avoid incoming storms. There they earned their third shutout dual team win in two days, winning all nine matches in blowouts to complete the week.
After routing North, the Panthers stood just two conference wins shy of their third-straight 12-0 season in the Mountain Seven. Having beaten the Mustangs 9-0 in Sylva Sept. 4, Franklin hosted Smoky Mountain after press time Sept. 30.
Fittingly, they saved their toughest conference test for last, traveling to West Henderson Oct. 2 to rehash their 7-2 home win over the Falcons Sept. 9. That score belied the true nature of the rivals’ first contest, which featured narrow Panther wins in multiple singles matches. West dealt Franklin what to date remains its most recent conference loss, a 5-4 Falcon win to claim the 2021 conference title.
Franklin plans to end its regular season versus Rabun Gap-Nacoochee Oct. 3, rehashing its narrow 5-4 loss to the Eagles in Georgia Aug. 30, ahead of the release of postseason brackets Oct. 14.