North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
North Myrtle Beach girls tennis number one player Claire Kingston serves in the first round playoff match against St. James at North Myrtle Beach High School.
By John Smithson
The North Myrtle Beach girls tennis team made the SCHSL 5A playoffs and faced St. James at home last Thursday afternoon. The Lady Chiefs and the Lady Sharks split their two matches this season, but the Chiefs earned the home court advantage.
Chiefs coach Brian Paterson explained the home playoff match. “We beat them 4-3 and they beat us 3-4, but we won more matches due to our two, three and five players winning six out of six in those matches.”
Unfortunately, the Sharks came out on top last Thursday 4-3 and eliminated the Chiefs. Paterson still felt his team did well. “We had a better year, finished fourth in the region. We were 9-9 overall and 3-6 in a very tough region. It was the first year that we have had three eighth graders on varsity. We took ten on varsity and we had 26 on our JV team. So, we have a solid feeder program.”
“Our JV team was 2-2 this year. They got some matches in. We were pretty excited about this year.”
Paterson had one senior on the varsity team and her name was Claire Kingston. He reacted this way about her loss. “That’s going to be a big adjustment. She has been our number one player since halfway through her eighth grade into her ninth year. That’s big not only on the coaching side but also for morale for a lot of the kids. We’ve got a solid number two and three that want to step up into that role. And I think they are capable.”
“The best part about this year was that Claire’s leadership has really stepped up as far as her taking a mentor role. She’s really not just owning the number one role but also helping us build for the future through that number one role. She’s been awesome. It’s like having another coach on the court this year. She’s been so positive. We will miss her,” Paterson concluded.
