The Cardinals' girls tennis team will play for the 1A state dual-team championship in Burlington in the morning, while a trio of Cardinal cross country runners have a legitimate shot at 1A state titles racing in Clemmons later in the afternoon.
The East Wilkes tennis troupe, coached by 2001 graduate Aaron Simmons, has already set a record for "first-time-ever" moments this fall.
The Cards improved to 20-0 with Tuesday's 5-1 win over North Stokes in the 1A semifinals. No East Wilkes tennis team had ever won a conference title, nor a second-round playoff match, coming into this season.
Seniors Brianna Fulp and Jessie Elmore earned another first for the tennis program by capturing a 1A state doubles championship last weekend. They were runners-up last season but had no equal in the region and state tournaments this go-around.
The quest for the team state title will be a tough one. Raleigh Charter (18-3) is a bit of an unknown but they beat a solid Topsail team in their semifinal match Tuesday by a 5-1 score. The Phoenix, who only have one senior in the starting line-up, also beat 2007 state champion Science & Math and 2A power Cardinal Gibbons during the regular season.
Science & Math had been ranked No. 1 in the state most of the season but didn't make the state playoff draw because of its loss to Charter. Now, East Wilkes is ranked first and Charter second.
Lori Wang leads Raleigh Charter, posting an 11-2 record at No. 1 singles. She and doubles partner Margaret Gaines were state semifinalists last weekend, losing to the doubles team from Gray Stone Day that Fulp and Elmore beat in the championship match.
"Raleigh Charter is strong at one, two and three (singles)," Simmons said. "They are a power team, a step-it-up-and-drive-it type. We're going to slow the pace down a little bit."
The match begins at 9 a.m. at the Burlington Recreation and Tennis Center. Lauren Stutts, Amy Hill, Jessica Taylor and Amber Jennings round out the East Wilkes starting roster along with Fulp and Elmore.
None of the six are dominant, overpowering players. But each is smart and consistent. Playing the Cardinals can be like volleying against a wall -- the ball always seems to come back no matter where it is placed.
The best example came Tuesday against North Stokes. The Cardinals led the Vikes 4-1, needing Amber Jennings to win her singles match to close out the victory. Jennings patiently volleyed with her opponent over the last few games, using lobs and shot placement in the corners to outlast her foe. The match turned at the end when the North Stokes player repeatedly hit balls into the net.
"It's not pretty, and it's not always technique, but she dug for every point. She didn't make many unforced errors. That's key in those type points," Simmons said. "If you can keep the ball in play and keep it deep down the middle, you know you are going to win 80 percent of your matches."
Simmons played for coach Avery West during his time at East Wilkes from 1998-2001. At that time, Elkin and Mount Airy were the teams to beat year-in and year-out.
Simmons helped West coach the Cardinal boys the year after he graduated, then worked with Watauga's program while attending Appalachian State. He gives a lot of the credit for the program's rise to his mentor, who retired a few years ago.
"I would not be here coaching this team and I would not have a love for tennis if it wasn't for Avery West," Simmons said. "None of this is possible without him. He knows the sport better than anybody in this area I think. He taught me how to play this game.
Simmons was a state qualifier as a player but never experienced what his Lady Cardinals are enjoying this fall.
"Getting my spankings at Elkin and Mount Airy every year ... that was a big part of motivating us to build this program into something cool," he said.
Conceivably, the East Wilkes tennis players could stop in Clemmons to watch the cross country state meet on their way back to Ronda. The afternoon session will feature the 2A boys meet starting at 2 p.m., followed by the 1A boys, 2A girls and then 1A girls.
Cardinals Eric Blackburn, Carol Blankenship and Anna Hayes should be able to run at the front of the 1A races.
Blackburn has the second fastest recorded time in 1A this fall, as posted at www.ncrunners.com. His biggest challenges for the 1A title look to be Josh Downey of Raleigh, Tyler Breedlove of Hayesville, John Spencer Wolfe of Polk County and Matus Kriska of Mount Airy.
Kriska has beaten Blackburn in a regular season race this season but Blackburn won the two meets that counted most -- the Northwest 1A Conference and 1A Midwest Region races.
Blankenship has the second fastest time in the state on the girls side. Like Blackburn, she won the conference and region meets.
Blankenship may be driven by not finishing at the state championships last year. She and teammate Hayes were running with the leaders, but Blankenship collapsed and couldn't go on.
Hayes will wrap up a cross country career Saturday that has included four all-conference performances and two all-state showings. Hayes finished second in last weekend's region meet behind Blankenship.
The entire East Wilkes girls team will be in the field, with Blankenship and Hayes being joined by Kelsey Redding, Candace Blankenship, Carrie Blankenship, Dana Prevette and Elizabeth Norman. The Lady Cardinals finished second in the region meet behind Bishop McGuinness.
Although East Wilkes is the defending state team champion on the boys side, only Blackburn qualified for the 1A boys meet this season.
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