There isn't much separation between the Green Hope and Panther Creek girls tennis teams as of now, but that's what they will play one another for on Monday.

The two teams have finished 1-2 in the Tri-Nine Conference in each of the previous two seasons and appear to be on that same path again. Panther Creek (7-0, 5-0 Tri-Nine) has defeated all of its opponents by 9-0 scores. Green Hope (8-1, 6-0) has done the same in each of its wins, with the lone exception coming in a 5-4 non-conference loss to East Chapel Hill.

The two schools will meet at 4 p.m. at the Cary Tennis Center and will soon thereafter break the first-place tie between them.

"We've been riding a nice little wave here," said Panther Creek coach Nathaniel Blalock, who is in his first year coaching the girls. "We've played some really competitive matches through the course of the year, but in terms of a complete team, we haven't seen that yet. But we will see that Monday, that's for sure. That'll be a test for us."

Green Hope is ranked fifth among the state's 4A girls tennis teams, while Panther Creek is the leading vote-getter among teams that missed out on the top 10 ranking.

"We're expecting the best competition in the conference," said Green Hope coach Beth Hedgepeth.

The Falcons have never lost to Panther Creek in girls or boys tennis - but don't expect pressure to get to either side.

Hedgepeth said that her young team, which is breaking in four new starters from last season, got the early-season jitters out of the way in its East Chapel Hill match. Blalock said one of his team's most identified characteristics is that they are always relaxed.

Panther Creek posed a challenge last year, but lost 8-1 in their final meeting. But last year only Green Hope was truly dominating and posting almost entirely 9-0 shutouts.

"I don't know that they were racking up the kind of wins that they're getting this year," Blalock said. "We're playing some complete tennis."

Green Hope has three players - Audrey Channell, Priyanka Srinivas and Caroline Sigmon - who have yet to lose any singles or doubles match this season. Channell, a junior, plays No. 1 singles, while sophomores Srinivas and Sigmon, play Nos. 3 and 5 respectively.

Three freshmen - Jurasia Horvat, Brantley Belk and Courtney Kendall - round out the rest of the lineup.

"We have quite the crop of new freshmen who are used to playing in tournaments and fit in really well with our competitive nature and spirit," Hedgepeth said. "We're solid all the way down (the lineup)."

Panther Creek, meanwhile, has five of its returning players from last year, starting with No. 1 Megan Smith and continuing with Claire Wach (No. 2), Katie Ryan (No. 3), Allie Nguyen (No. 4) and Brooke Namboodri (No. 6).

Marjorie Primm is the only newcomer to a lineup that hasn't dropped a set all year long.

"Not only are they verbally committed to beating Green Hope, you can sense a belief that they can do it," Blalock said. "We'll have to play our best and our smartest tennis for sure - they're not going to roll over."