By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
ATLANTIC BEACH — It came down to the final doubles match at the Atlantic Beach Island and Racquet Club on Thursday afternoon.
With the score tied 4-4 after six singles matches and the top two doubles matches, the battle between Washington and West Carteret for the 3-A portion of the Coastal Conference title came down to No. 3 doubles.
And thanks to a come-from-behind victory by Davey Ann Burbage and Shannon Niederhauser over West Carteret’s Corinne Rixey and Anna Powell, the Lady Pam Pack are champions.
The Pam Pack’s doubles team rallied from a 3-2 deficit to win six of the last eight points to win their match 8-5, and give Washington the overall victory, 5-4.
The Lady Pack won four of the six singles matches, as Beth Batchelor, Hayley Stowe, Mary Potocki and Niederhauser all recorded victories.
The biggest win belonged to Stowe, who battled back to defeat the Patriots’ Emily Carr in a third-set tie-breaker, 6-3, 3-6, 11-9.
During the match, Stowe had to use a 15-minute retirement during the second set as she became ill after fighting a weeklong sickness.
But the junior netter hung in there and scored a huge victory for Washington.
Batchelor picked up the win at No. 1 singles by defeating West Carteret’s Mary Charles Hale, 7-5, 6-3, while Potocki dominated her match at No. 3 singles, winning 6-1,-6-1 over Amy Moore. Niederhauser also breezed by her opponent at No. 6 singles, smashing Anna Powell, 6-1, 6-2 to give the Pam Pack a 4-2 lead after singles play.
The Lady Pack improves to 10-3 overall on the season, and 8-3 in conference play. It is 7-0 against Class 3-A teams in the Coastal Conference.
Washington will close out the regular season on Monday when it plays host to New Bern.
Washington 5, West Carteret 4
Singles
Beth Batchelor (WAS) def. Mary Charles Hale (WC), 7-5, 6-3
Haley Stowe (WAS) def. Emily Carr (WC), 6-3, 3-6, 11-9
Mary Potocki (WAS) def. Amy Moore (WC), 6-1, 6-1
Corinne Rixey (WC) def. Davey Ann Burbage (WAS), 7-5, 6-2
Caroline Henry (WC) def. Janie Page (WAS), 6-1, 6-4
Shannon Niederhauser (WAS) def. Anna Powell (WC), 6-1,6-2
Doubles
Hale/Carr (WC) def. Batchelor/Stowe (WAS), 8-6
Moore/Henry (WC) def. Potocki/Page (WAS), 8-5
Burbage/Niederhauser (WAS) def. Rixey/Powell (WC), 8-5
Exhibition
Singles
Kelly Metcalf (WC) def. Caroline Cherry (WAS), 8-3
Doubles
Tierra Locklear/Samara Romero (WAS) def. Laura Saleeby/Hannah Howard (WC), 8-5
Saleeby/Meredith Powell (WC) def. Martine Aase/Veronica Zapata (WAS), 8-2
Mary Margaret Fowle/Caroline Peck (WAS) def. Hali Vradelis/Mary Ann Varner (WC), 14-12