The regular season is at an end for Panther women’s tennis.
On the week of Sept. 29, Franklin faced a busy schedule, playing their last three matches in the Mountain Eight Conference. With 9-0 wins over North Henderson and Smoky Mountain, they finished their campaign with an 11-5 record, ahead of the 5A West Pre-Regional Tournament.
On Monday, Sept. 29, the Panthers hosted North at the Macon County Rec Park to rehash their 9-0 win over the Knights Sept. 2. There Franklin once again looked like the better team, winning all six matches in singles. At #5 sophomore Elsie Phillips lost a hard-fought first set 6-7 (6-2), then came back to win the second set [6-4] and a match tiebreak [10-4]. At Nos. 1-4 and 6, none of Marlee Barnes, Olivia Rinker, Eva Holland, Carah Reynolds or Maria Santos lost more than three games apiece, respectively. In doubles Rinker and Holland cruised to another win at #1 [8-1], while Barnes/Grace Worley [5-3] and Mia Boukhamphong/Laurel Smith [8-6] won hard-fought matches at Nos. 2 and 3.
The next night the Panthers traveled to Smoky Mountain to rehash their 9-0 win over the Mustangs Sept. 4. Once again Franklin took care of business in the rematch, losing just one game overall in singles. At Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, Barnes/Clara Stork and Rinker/Holland each blanked their opponents 8-0, while Worley/Smith won 8-2 at #3.
The next night the team returned to Franklin for their toughest match of the week, rehashing their 8-1 loss to first-place West Henderson Sept. 8. There the Panthers looked much-improved in the rematch, winning three out of six matches in singles. As the only Panther to win a match in the teams’ first meeting, Holland prevailed again at #4, claiming a hard-fought first set [7-5] then cruising to a win in the second [6-1]. At Nos. 5 and 6, Reynolds [6-2, 6-3] and Elsie Phillips [6-3, 6-2] both earned convincing wins.
With both teams tied 3-3 entering doubles, Franklin needed two more wins for a dual team victory, earning one in blowout fashion from Rinker/Holland at #2 [8-1]. At #3 Reynolds/Phillips nearly completed the upset, but West claimed a hard-fought match 8-6 for their all-important fifth win.
The loss dropped Franklin’s final record to 11-5 overall and 9-5 in the Mountain Eight, where they finished the season in third place behind West [14-0] and Brevard [12-2]. The result ended Franklin’s three-year streak of unbeaten seasons in-conference, before Brevard joined the old Mountain Seven in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s quadrennial realignment earlier this year.
In addition to the conferences themselves, the realignment also changed the state’s postseason individual format. From fall 2021 through spring 2025, singles players and doubles pairs wishing to compete at the state level needed a strong finish in their own conference tournament to advance, with each conference allotted a certain number of regional berths based on size.
Under the new system, with the prevalence of split-classification conferences across the state, the NCHSAA has moved from its former conference format to a system of eight “Pre-Regional” tournaments per classification. On Tuesday, Oct. 7, Franklin and the Mountain Eight’s other 5A teams [North Henderson, West Henderson and Smoky Mountain] will travel to Western Carolina University to join Enka, Erwin and North Buncombe in the 5A West Pool B Pre-Regional. There each team’s best players will battle to advance to the 5A West Regional at Hickory City Park Oct. 17-18, with seven regional berths available in both singles and doubles.
As a team Franklin ended their season as the 5A classification’s 21st-ranked squad. They’ll learn their first-round state playoff opponent Oct. 10, with play scheduled to begin Oct. 13. In a field of 48 teams, the Panthers should host at least one playoff match.