RALEIGH - The Broughton High athletic official in charge of updating state championship banners and signs on campus may soon be pulling double-duty.

The Capitals' girls tennis team has advanced to the NCHSAA 4-A state finals for the third straight year with a 5-1 win over Panther Creek Wednesday afternoon at Broughton.

The school's hallowed courts feature a green wall listing the years of each state title painted in white. The 2009 state was posted a couple of years ago, but 2010 still needs to be painted on and the unbeaten Capitals (22-0) are now one win shy of adding 2011 to the wall.

Broughton plays the winner of the Greensboro Grimsley-Charlotte Myers Park semifinal on Saturday at the Burlington Tennis Center. The Capitals have beaten Myers Park in the finals the last two years.

"There's a lot of pressure at the state finals because Broughton is always expected to win,” said senior Sarah King, the Caps' No. 2 singles. “Last year I was trying not to stress out, but I know what to expect this year.”

What opponents can expect from Broughton – as Panther Creek learned the hard way – is college-level talent from No. 1 singles through 6.

"There are so many good players on this team, it helps our game,” King said. “Our practices are intense.”

Panther Creek's lone win was from sophomore Megan Smith at No. 1 singles by default over senior Katie Kane.

Smith won the first set 7-5 and was leading 2-1 in the second at the same time Broughton's fifth team point was recorded by King to clinch the match and eliminate the need to play doubles.

At that point, Broughton coach Laura Davidson had Kane forfeit her match after Kane requested a break from the flu bug she was fighting. Davidson explained that since the match was clinched, she wanted to send Kane home to rest for Saturday's finals.

Broughton's other four wins came from Maggie Kane at No. 3 over senior Claire Wach, 6-1, 6-3; Olivia King at No. 4 over senior Allie Nguyen, 6-1, 6-0; Kelsey Boole at No. 5 over sophomore Marjorie Primm, 6-0, 6-0; and Asha Iyengar at No. 6 over junior Brooke Namboodri, 6-0, 6-1.

Davidson said Katie Kane could have been recruited by lower level Division I teams, but she prefers to attend North Carolina. Sarah King is committed to Appalachian State.

Sophomore Maggie Kane is expected to be an ACC recruit in two years and sophomore Olivia King and junior Kelsey Boole are projected to be Division I recruits by their senior seasons.

Iyengar, a senior, is drawing recruiting interest from Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Los Angeles.

For Panther Creek (18-3), the loss ended the Catamounts' most successful season with their first trip to the state semifinals. Their only other two losses were twice to Tri-Nine Conference champion Green Hope.

"We improved throughout the season and learned from our wins and losses,” Panther Creek coach Nathaniel Blalock said. “We're a young team – we only lose two seniors. I'm proud of our girls for making it this far.

“We felt we were a top-tier team in the state, and now we feel we have our name in the mix.”