For decades, Terry Sanford tennis wreaked havoc on the NCHSAA with a run of six doubles state championships, three singles state crowns and four consecutive dual-team titles. The last of those championships had come in 1996 until last season, when Pauline Bui and Loren Galaviz broke through with a doubles state championship to give Terry Sanford seven and tie the Bulldogs with Salisbury for the most in NCHSAA history.
On Saturday at Burlington Tennis Center, Terry Sanford took sole possession of that state record.
Galaviz and Jenny Wang ran through the 3A playoff field, not dropping a set on the way to the 2024 NCHSAA doubles state championship where they defeated East Lincoln’s Molly McGuirk and Sidney Dann 6-2, 7-6 (2) to win the eighth doubles title in school history — more than any other program in the state.
And the Dawgs weren’t finished.
Bui walloped her way through the singles bracket, dropping only one game through the first two rounds of straight-set sweeps. She blanked Williams’ Abigail Brown in the second set after winning the first 6-4 in the state semifinal.
Saturday’s state championship singles match against Carrboro junior four-star prospect Ryan Hanes was a rematch of the Mideast Regional final won by Bui. She dropped the first set of the state-title match 3-6 but then rallied to close out with 6-4, 6-2 wins to earn another NCHSAA title.
Congratulations to your MidEast Regional Singles and Doubles Champions.
#1 seed Pauline Bui won the Singles championship after playing a phenomenal match against the #3 seed
#1 seed Loren Galaviz / Jenny Wang won the doubles championship after playing a stellar match against… pic.twitter.com/p8FrCXqaAM
— Coach Goodman (@CoachCGoodman) October 19, 2024
Before last season’s doubles championship win, all of the Bulldogs’ staggering 16 state championship titles (individual and dual-team combined) had come during a run from 1977-’96 as coach Gil Bowman helped elevate the program during his 41-year career.
Only a sophomore, Bui has played a huge role in bringing titles back to the Bulldogs, who finished as the runner-up in last year’s dual-team tournament and are set to host fifth-seeded First Flight on Monday as the No. 4 seed in the 3A East dual-team playoff field.
Galaviz, too, has been instrumental, and she’s only a junior as coaches Susan Brady and Christopher Goodman continue to build on the Bulldogs’ tennis legacy.
The Bulldogs reeled off four straight dual-team state championships from 1991-’94 as a 4A program. Three of their seven doubles state titles were won by twin teammates Lisa and Margit Monaco (1977-’79, ’80). Lisa Monaco also teamed with Marjorie Yarbrough to win the 1979 doubles championship.
Claire Cheatwood and Elizabeth Williams won the state doubles title for Terry Sanford in 1993, and Jennifer Blue and Mandy Stanfield captured doubles title No. 6 for the Bulldogs in 1996.
Blair Sutton won three straight individual singles 4A state championships for Terry Sanford from 1990-’93.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Terry Sanford tennis wins 2024 state championships Pauline Bui
