Hickory High brother-duo Graham and Clint Powers win 3A Doubles State Title on May 11
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Men’s Individual Tennis 2024 Championships were decided on Saturday at four different locations across the mid-state.
In the 1A Championship, Eno River Academy’s Nathan Bermeo topped the two-time defending champion Nikhil Deshpande 6-2, 6-2 at Cary Tennis Park on Saturday to win the singles championship. Bermeo was a part of the doubles team that won the 1A title in 2023. The 2024 1A doubles championship belongs to Elkin’s Ballard twins, Aidan and Connor, as they beat Triangle Math and Science’s Prahalad Srinivasan and Cooper Fielding 6-3, 6-3.
At Ting Park in Holly Springs, Franklin Academy swept the day, winning both the 2A singles and doubles titles. Alponso Sison defended his 2023 singles title as he beat Greene Central’s William Drake in three sets (6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3) on Saturday. In the doubles championship match, Derek Shute and Nick DeLiso beat Research Triangle’s Matthew Southern and Jackson Doyle 6-3, 6-2.
In the 3A Championships at the Burlington Tennis Center, Terry Sanford’s Drew Hedgecoe racked up his third consecutive singles title and Hickory repeated in the doubles competition. Hedgecoe, who lost only eight games in the two-day event, beat South Central’s Shaw Akula 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match. In doubles, Hickory’s Graham and Clinton Powers beat Fike’s Snyder and Collins Pearson 6-4, 6-4 in the title round. Graham Powers won the 2023 doubles title with Giffin Lovern.
In the 4A Championships at Millbrook Exchange, Providence’s Jack Dimenna outlasted Green Hope’s Jimin Jung 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to claim the 2024 championship. In the doubles competition, Green Hope’s Stephen Gervase and Vivek Indlamuri topped Hough’s Jesus Espinoza and Jackson Davis 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.
3A CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES:
Graham Powers/Clint Powers (Hickory) def. Wyatt Schmidt/Ethan Tang (J.H. Rose) 6-0, 6-1
Powers/Powers def. Kai Spira/Noah Simmons (Carrboro) 6-1, 6-1
Powers/Powers def. Anthony Vucinovic/J.J. Woerner (First Flight) 6-4, 7-5
Powers/Powers def. Synder Pearson/Collins Pearson (Fike) 6-4, 6-4