CARY - First-year girls tennis coaches Jacki Fralick at Panther Creek and Ashleigh Wheeler at Holly Springs say they're quickly learning the Tri-Nine Conference is a deep and talented league.

In fact, Fralick almost learned the hard way until Panther Creek rallied from a 2-1 deficit in doubles to sweep singles for a 7-2 team tennis win Wednesday on the Catamounts' courts.

Panther Creek improved to 3-0 in the Tri-Nine and 5-0 overall. Holly Springs dropped to 2-2 and 4-2.

"This conference is very tough, and it's fun to see,” said Fralick, who was a college All-American at the University of Illinois-Chicago. "When I first came out here for tryouts, I didn't know what to expect. But my high school team wasn't as strong as this one. It's fun to watch girls in matches all the way down the courts. It's a lot of fun to coach this level of tennis.”

Wheeler also has a college tennis background as a former assistant at UNC-Pembroke.

"This is my first year in this conference, and we have our work cut out for us,” Wheeler said. "Everybody here is a great player, but I tell my girls anything can happen and we have to be ready to play every day.”

The Golden Hawks started the afternoon ready in doubles when the No. 1 team of senior Ally Johnson and freshman Bailey Edwards won 8-6 and the No. 3 team of junior Megan LaVacca and sophomore Megan Sredl won 8-1.

"We started off a little rough, but we fought back,” said Panther Creek senior Ashley Payne. “They're an improving team and they definitely have better players this year.”

Payne, a team co-captain, bounced back from a loss in doubles to win her match at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-2.

Panther Creek's other singles wins were recorded by freshman Megan Smith at No. 1, 6-2, 6-2; junior Allie Nguyen at No. 2, 6-0, 6-1; junior Claire Wach at No. 4, 6-2, 6-0; sophomore Brooke Namboobri at No. 5, 6-3, 6-1; and freshman Katie Payne at No. 6, 6-4, 6-2.

The Catamounts' other team point came from a win at No. 2 doubles by Wach and Namboobri.

Panther Creek has a mix of veteran leadership with Payne and fellow senior co-captain Amy Hethcote and young talent with Smith, one of the the top junior players in the area. In the girls 14 division, she has been ranked in the top 20 in North Carolina and the top 50 in the south.

But the Catamounts say they also enjoy having a larger roster that gets along well.

"I didn't cut anybody, and we have 18 girls,” Fralick said. “If they're willing to come out here and work hard, I'm willing to come out here and teach them tennis." -30-