Myers Park boys tennis chasing girls’ perfection at NCHSAA tennis finals Saturday

Myers Park’s boys tennis team is trying to pull off a rare double Saturday at the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A dual team tennis state championships.

The Mustangs will head to Burlington with a perfect 20-0 record and try to win its first dual-team championship. The Mustangs are making their second appearance in the finals. Myers Park lost 8-1 to Raleigh Millbrook in the 1999 N.C. 4A state championship match.

And this year’s Mustangs will be trying to follow up on the girls dual team Mustangs, who finished 21-0 last fall and won a state championship. That Mustangs girls team won 161 combined matches, losing only 10.

That performance motivated the Mustangs’ boys all spring.

LINK: NCHSAA playoff pairings

LINK: NCISAA playoff pairings

LINK: How Myers Park girls soccer is barreling towards school history

LINK: Observer-area baseball teams face regional semifinal, state championship tests Friday

"The boys definitely saw that it is was possible (to win a state championship), when they saw the run the girls’ team made," said Mustangs coach Ed Flynn, who has coached the Myers Park girls’ team for 13 years and Mustangs boys’ team for 11. "They saw how the girls played in the big, pressure matches like the state semifinals’ match at home against Charlotte Catholic. That has really inspired them this season and it should inspire them to see their classmates and friends have that kind of success."

Myers Park sophomore Mark Dillon Jr., who now plays No. 1 singles and doubles, said he agreed with his coach -- the girls set a high bar that boys have spent the entire season trying to match.

"Knowing the Myers Park girls won a (state) championship is also a challenge for our (boys) team now," Dillon said. "They won states, now we want to do the same thing.”

The Mustangs are one of several Observer-area teams hunting state titles this weekend.

▪ In the private schools, 2A Carmel Christian is trying to win its second straight state championship. Carmel (10-3) plays Arendell Parrott Saturday at 10 a.m. at Campbell University.

▪ In private school 3A, CISAA conference rivals Charlotte Country Day and Providence Day play at 1:30 p.m. at Campbell. Country Day (17-0), a longtime state power under legendary coach Calvin Davis, is the favorite against the Chargers (13-5).

▪ In the NCHSAA state finals, Weddington (13-3-1) faces Fayetteville Sanford (13-0) in Saturday’s 3A championship round in Burlington. Weddington is in the finals for the first time but can return Union County its third straight state championship. Marvin Ridge won in 2015 and 2016.

▪ In 1A, Pine Lake Prep (10-3) plays Raleigh Charter (19-0). Raleigh Charter has defeated Pine Lake Prep in the past two state finals.

For Myers Park, Flynn said his team’s depth and his team’s togetherness have a played a big role in this year’s state title run.

"Having two senior leaders like Flynn (Stover) and Chris (Williams) makes a huge difference because they have been there done that, and have seen their season end three times without doing what they want to do," Coach Flynn said. "But it’s also great to have all the young guys pushing the older guys to keep their spots. There are times when our best competition is at practice and we talk about that a lot. We have to have that match-like intensity, even in practice. We try to create drills and games within our practices to keep things as competitive as possible."

And now, the Mustangs are one win away from their goal.

"The way we have played this season gives us a lot of confidence, but at the same time we are humble because we know it’s one thing to be the best team in Charlotte, and another to be the best team in the state," said senior co-captain Christopher Williams said. "But to win two championships (boys and girls) in one year would be special."

This story was originally published May 19, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Myers Park boys tennis chasing girls’ perfection at NCHSAA tennis finals Saturday."