South Columbus High School

 

SOURCE The News Reporter

 

 

BOILING SPRING LAKES - South Columbus High School senior tennis player Lucas Ford gained an unprecedented fourth consecutive Waccamaw Conference singles  championship Monday as he cruised through bracket play at the conference tournament held at the South Brunswick High School courts.

In doubles play, the Whiteville High tandem of Zack Williams and J.D. Hughes came away the title.

Ford's sweep of the conference singles title also kept it in the family for the sixth straight year. His older brother Jordan, now a senior at N.C. State, won the Waccamaw singles title in 2004 and 2005.

Lucas Ford, who has led his team to a fourth straight Waccamaw Conference regular-season championship, was runnerup in the East 2A Regional Tournament last year in Greenville and advanced the quarterfinals of the 2008 state tournament at Cary.

Ford defeated Joseph Bannerman of Pender in Monday's championship round. He had earlier beaten teammate Canyon Gore in the semi-finals.   

Williams and Hughes advanced to the finals match with a semi-final victory over Shaun Benton and Todd Barnhill of South Columbus. They went against Gotsch and Spafford of North Brunswick in the finals. With Williams and Hughes holding a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Gotsch sustained and injury that kept him from continuing to play and the Whiteville duo gained the win.

Williams and Hughes had advanced to the doubles semi-finals of last year's tournament.

Ford and the Williams-Hughes duo will receive the Waccamaw Conference's top seedings in their respective brackets of the May 8 East Regional Tournament at Greenville.

South's Gore and Whiteville's Jordan Duncan have also qualified for regional tournament singles.

 

South Columbus Cheerleaders 2008

 

The Varsity Cheerleaders won the Columbus County Fair Competition 2008

 

The News Reporter - photo by Mark Gilchrist