The North Carolina high school girls tennis season began last Monday with other fall sports. Here are the top players to watch this season.
Hendersonville was the only team from Western North Carolina to win a state championship; it won its fifth consecutive team title, and there will be several Bearcats on that list in 2024. But other teams are returning top talent, too.
Here are 13 players to keep an eye on this season.
Abigail Angel
Franklin | Sr.
Angel was instrumental in the Panthers reaching the NCHSAA 3A West Regional finals. Last season, she and partner Kate Phillips went 7-2 in singles and 13-4 in doubles.
Ellie Dukowicz
Carolina Day | Jr.
Dukowicz achieved 11-0 in singles last season and 7-2 with her doubles partner Susannah Owens.
Alex Dy
Roberson | So.
Sophia Gallian
Dy was one of Western North Carolina’s most impressive freshmen, going 9-1 last season as the Rams’ No. 3 singles player and 9-3 with doubles partner Erika Mendez.
Hendersonville | Jr.
Gallian reached 13-2 in singles and 13-0 in doubles with Macdowell in 2023.
Zoe Lynch
Roberson | So.
Lynch was another dominant freshman for Roberson, partnering Kara Lynch to a record of 8-1 in singles and 6-0 in doubles.
Anna MacDowell
Hendersonville | Jr.
MacDowell achieved a record of 15-1 in singles and remained undefeated with her doubles partner Sophia Gallian, reaching 13-0.
Evelyn Merrell
North Buncombe | Jr.
Merrell was named to the All-WNC second team after going 14-3 in singles action to help lead North Buncombe to the third round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs.
Kate Phillips
Franklin | Sr.
Phillips achieved a score of 6-0 for the Panthers as number 2 in singles. With Abigail Angel she achieved a score of 13-4 in doubles.
Raleigh Prichard
Hendersonville | Sr.
Prichard will lead the Bearcats’ singles lineup following the graduation of Eliza Perry and Ramsey Ross. With partner Reese Redden, she was 16-2 in singles and 12-1 in doubles.
Reese Redden
Hendersonville | Sr.
Redden will also play a bigger role after Perry and Ross graduate. She went 17-0 in singles and partnered with Prichard to reach the NCHSAA 2A doubles semifinals.
Maci Stork
Franklin | Sr.
Stork had a 10-1 record as the No. 3 singles player and helped the Panthers reach the 3A West Regional final last season.
VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH: Here are 20 Western North Carolina volleyball players to watch in the 2024 NCHSAA season
Shea Sullivan
West Henderson | Jr.
Sullivan finished as the Falcons’ best player in 2023 with a record of 10-4 in singles.
Sarah Vitale
Polk County | Sr.
Vitale had a record of 8-6 as the Wolverines’ best individual player in 2023. She led Polk County to the third round of the NCHSAA 1A playoffs.
Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on X @zacharyahuber. Please support this kind of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times and Times-News.