Tennis remains unbeaten … and unchallenged
Published 3:00 am Thursday, September 24, 2026
Grimsley has a solid tennis team, but Davie is unbeaten and unchallenged for a reason. The War Eagles reached another level in Greensboro on Sept. 16.
“It the best match of the year against the best team we have played all year,” coach Colin Ferebee said. “I said: ‘I don’t think y’all realize what you just did. You made a very good team look bad. Not because they are bad, it’s because you played so well. You made an 8-2 Greensboro team look normal. That should tell you how good a job you’ve done this year preparing for this moment.’ We scheduled Grimsley, Reagan and Page because we wanted playoff atmosphere and playoff competition.”
Davie 9, Lake Norman 0
On the road on Sept. 15, Davie turned the Wildcats into cannon fodder and clinched at least a share of the NPC championship.
“I’m not going to pretend like Lake Norman is the Lake Norman of old,” Ferebee said. “They are not the powerhouse team that they used to be, but they are still a good team. They still have girls who are good at tennis. We did what we were supposed to do. It was a hectic environment with the band and football going on.”
In singles, Corbin Drum, Kate Chaffin, Layla Hazlip, Sydney Ward, Ola Leszczuk and Ella Fisher helped produce the fifth shutout win of the season. Drum/Chaffin, Hazlip/Leszczuk and Ward/Fisher swept doubles as Davie soared to 4-0 in the NPC, one game ahead of second-place South Iredell, which lost 5-4 to North Iredell.
Ward drew rave reviews at No. 4 singles as the sophomore won player of the match after a 7-5, 6-2 victory.
“Sydney played up a seed at No. 4, and she played one heck of a match,” Ferebee said. “It is not the best girl she has played all year, but it was top three. That was the Sydney I need for the future. She’s going to be big for us moving forward.”
Davie 7, Grimsley 2
This was about as good as it gets in nonconference play on Sept. 16. Even though Grimsley (8-3) is a whole different animal anyone Davie has faced this season, the War Eagles (10-0 overall) added to the streak by winning every match by 7-2 or greater.
“We had Grimsley flag football and Grimsley JV football going on,” Ferebee said. “We had the band going on. We had football practice going on behind us. We had the most chaotic atmosphere. One of the Grimsley girls was screaming at the top of her lungs after points. Instead of quiet, peaceful and reserved, it was loud and hectic and like a football game. The girls did not complain. They got after it. We got through that and that was impressive.”
Davie clinched in singles behind Drum, Chaffin, Hazlip, Leszczuk and Fisher. Leszczuk/Hazlip and Fisher/Ward put an exclamation mark on things in doubles. Drum was unbelievable at No. 1 singles, winning 6-4, 6-0.
“If that girl (Sukie Wang of Grimsley) plays singles, I think she could win the Midwest Regional, and Corbin made her look normal,” Ferebee said. “Freshman year (Wang) played singles (in the regional), but last year she played doubles, and I’m pretty sure she won regional in doubles as a freshman. She knocked out Elliot (Newsome) in her last individual high school match (in 2024), so that tells you how good (Wang) is. But Corbin made her look like a regular player.”
Hazlip was a warrior at No. 3 singles, playing through pain and taking both sets 6-2.
“Layla had the most gutsy performance,” he said. “She’s got a rib injury that she’s been dealing with, and it was acting up really bad. She was literally in tears during the match. I said: ‘Layla, we can retire you and take you off the court. Your health is more important than a tennis match.’ She looked at me and said: ‘I’m not quitting.’”