Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Senior Mary Emma Holscher won her second straight Eastern Carolina 2A Conference tennis championship and is one of four Washington High School tennis players to advance to regional competition.

Holscher finished the conference season 9-0 and will aim for her second trip to the state tournament with a high finish at Greene Central High School Friday and Saturday. The Pam Pack finished second to the host school in the conference tournament.

Sophomore Katherine Pollock (6-3) also qualified in singles, while junior Olivia Paszt and sophomore Abby Lewis will compete in doubles.

Holscher finished second in the East regional last fall and competed in the state tournament before COVID-19 called a halt to all sports.

Because tennis was pushed back to the end of this school year, she’s competed in cross-country, basketball and softball before picking up the racket.

“She’s had a good year along with the others who qualified,” said coach Miranda Whitley. “Olivia and Katherine also play multiple sports, so it’s been a longer than usual year for them. We’ve had a short, but fun season and hope to do well this weekend.”

Friday is the key day to advance to the state tournament. Each must win both matches that day to advance. Saturday’s semi-final and final matches are for placement (1-4) at the state level. The winners of Saturday’s first match play for the regional title and the top seed, while the losers play for the third and fourth seed.

“I’m proud of them for making it this far,” Whitley said. “We’ll give our best and see what happens.”