by Chris Hunt

On Oct. 30, Davidson Day senior Jenny Falcone won her second consecutive N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1A singles tennis championship.

Falcone also teamed up with junior Allie Uszenski to take the NCISAA 1A doubles championship. Falcone has made a commitment to play at the College of Charleston. She didn’t lose a match – or even a set – during her two-year career at Davidson Day. She won 252 of 258 games in her matches.

Kirk takes second at Pinehurst
On Nov. 2, North Mecklenburg High senior Katie Kirk finished second in the Class 4A girls golf championships at Pinehurst No. 1.

Kirk turned in back-to-back rounds of 73, only two strokes more than state champion Kristi Ingram of Winston-Salem Mount Tabor. Kirk and Ingram were tied after the first 18 holes.

With the second-place effort, Kirk completes one of the most distinguished high school golf careers in northern Mecklenburg County history. The four-time state qualifier won back-to-back I-MECK 4A conference Player of the Year awards and improved on her fourth-place finish at last year’s state tournament. Kirk also won the 2008 4A Western Regional tournament.

Davidson boys second at states

The Davidson Day boys cross country team finished second in the NCISAA championships Oct. 29 at Montreat College.

The Patriots finished with 59 points, 18 shy of state champion Wayne Christian. Davidson Day’s top performer was Jimmy Bonds with a fourth-place effort in 20 minutes, three seconds. Bonds competed on the cross country squad to prepare for the 2010-11 basketball season.

Huskies, Titans advance

On Nov. 2, the Hough boys soccer team won its first playoff game in school history. Hough (9-12-1) drew a wild card and upset No. 1 seeded Indian Trail Porter Ridge, 1-0.

Cheyn Roux scored for the Huskies. Nathaniel Goodwin assisted the game-winner in his first action in more than seven games since returning from injury.

“I think this win really sets the tone for what we want to do going forward with our soccer program,” said Hough coach David Smith, whose team will face the winner between Asheville AC Reynolds and East Gaston in the second round. “We want to be the kind of team that makes deep runs year after year in the playoffs.  To get a win in year No. 1 is just huge.”

Hopewell’s boys soccer team also advanced with a 2-0 win over Olympic on Nov. 2. Cole Tesar and Anthony Castaneda scored goals. Hopewell (12-5) is a No. 3 seed and will face either Lake Norman High or Sun Valley, both No. 2 seeds.

North Meck played its first-round game against conference rival Mallard Creek, a wild card entry, on Nov. 3. The Vikings (14-6-3, 9-1-2 I-MECK 4A) earned the league’s No. 1 seed on Oct. 27, winning their second consecutive conference title with a decisive 4-1 victory in the season finale against nemesis Hopewell. The loss ended Hopewell’s four-game winning streak. North Meck’s Hunter Slaton scored twice, while Davis Keenan and Patrick Harrow chipped in a goal, apiece. Hopewell senior Tyler Roberts also scored.

Huntersville’s Bartolomeo shines

On Oct. 30, Rachel Bartolomeo of Huntersville helped Charlotte Catholic win a Class 3A regional cross country meet at McAlpine Park. The standout freshman also contributed to Charlotte Catholic’s MEGA 7 3A/4A championship on Oct. 19.

Bartolomeo finished fourth in conference and fifth at the 3A event. She ran a personal-best 19 minutes, 25 seconds at regionals and will compete in the state finals this weekend at Kernersville’s Beeson Park.

Webster honored

Former Hopewell softball Coach David Webster received the 2010 N.C. High School Athletic Association Dick Knox Distinguished Service Award for officiating basketball. Webster officiated basketball games during his high school coaching career at Hopewell, where he won the 2002 and 2003 4A state championships.

Lake Norman hosts fall classic soccer tournament

The 20th annual Lake Norman Fall Classic Soccer tournament will be held at Huntersville’s Richard Barry Memorial Park Nov. 20-21. More than 190 teams are expected at this year’s Fall Classic, including squads from North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The event is expected to generate more than $650,000 in visitor spending to Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville.