By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
The four boys’ tennis teams from the Western Foothills 3A advancing to the state dual-team playoffs will battle in the opening round.
In pairings released Monday by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), Hickory earned the West No. 3 seed, Hibriten is at No. 7, St Stephens at No. 10 and Fred T. Foard at No. 14.
Lincolnton (No. 1) and Bandys (No 14) qualified out of the Catawba Valley 2A Athletic, while Draughn is No. 7 in the West 1A out of the Western Highlands 1A-2A , and Watauga from the Northwestern 3A-4A got the No. 4 seed and advanced in the 4As.
The first-round matches must be played by Wednesday.
In 3A, it will be Fred T. Foard at Hickory and St. Stephens at Hibriten. In 2A, No. 16 East Surry visits Lincolnton and Bandys goes to No. 3 West Stokes. Watauga is at home against No. 13 Greensboro Grimsley.
The Hickory-Foard winner gets the No. 6 West Henderson-No. 11 Crest winner in the next round, and the Hibriten-St. Stephens winner faces the winner of No. 15 North Henderson and No. 2 Lake Norman Charter.
If Lincolnton wins, it would be at home in the second round against No. 9 Black Mountain Owen or No. 8 Burns. Bandys would get a second-round battle with No. 11 West Stanly or no. 6 Lincoln Charter.
A win by Draughn would draw a second round match in 1A against No. 15 Christ The King or No. 21 Uwharrie Charter.
Opposite Watauga in the 4A bracket are No. 12 Winston-Salem Reagan and No. 5 Lake Norman.
STATE DUAL-TEAM BOYS PLAYOFF BRACKETS (for more and results, visit www.nchsaa.org): 2022 DUAL TEAM BOYS TENNIS PAIRINGS