The N.C. High School Athletic Association individual girls tennis championships are this weekend. For most classes, the first and second round are on Friday with semifinals and finals scheduled for Saturday morning (1A, which has half as many players, only needs to play a state title on Saturday).

The 4A singles draw makes it look like we could have all four regional champs in the semifinals, while the doubles competition looks like a free-for-all.

In 3A, the singles competition is absolutely loaded, perhaps a reflection of players opting to not try to dethrone the defending doubles champs. The 2A players didn’t have a choice — there’s a defending champ in the way in both singles and doubles.

For 1A, there’s a solid chance at least one school will be celebrating its first individual tennis champ, but which one?

Now, for a more detailed preview.

Below, we listed favorites and dark horses for all eight individual crowns being handed out on Saturday. There were four favorites for 4A and 3A competitions for singles and doubles each, while 2A got three and 1A had two. Each competition got one “dark horse” pick.

Many of these players are candidates for our all-state teams that are released a few weeks after the regular season. There’s a first, second, and third team of 12 players each, plus an honorable mention team of six.

4A

Singles

• Favorite #1 — Teagan Reilly, Myers Park: The sophomore has only lost to one player in her high school career, last year’s champ Olivia Corcoran. With Corcoran not defending her title this year, Reilly enters as the favorite.
• Favorite #2 — Samantha Slowik, Jordan: The senior is the reigning state runner-up and is 15-0 this year. She and Reilly could make for an epic final.
• Favorite #3 — Allison Harris, Broughton: Harris is 17-0 with wins over Jill Gruber (Millbrook) and Sophia Catino (New Hanover).
• Favorite #4 — Jill Gruber, Millbrook: She was the state runner-up as a freshman in the “2020” season that was played in the summer of 2021.
• Dark Horse — Faith Valentine, Lake Norman: Valentine is in the toughest draw of the 4A singles bracket and would need to get past Sophia Catino (New Hanover) or Ella Davis (Charlotte Catholic) to get to the semis, but hard to count her out.

Doubles

• Favorite #1 — Jeslyn Pratiknjo & Eleri Pratiknjo, Marvin Ridge: Jeslyn, a senior, plays No. 1 for the Mavericks and is the only player in the state to take more than two games in any given set against Myers Park’s Teagan Reilly. Eleri, a freshman who plays No. 2, is 11-3 in singles.
• Favorite #2 — Julianne Izod & Carolyn Izod, Apex Friendship: The senior and freshman had only teamed up three times this year before regionals, but still took home a regional title.
• Favorite #3 — Mia Caruna & Diana Higgins, Leesville Road: The No. 1 and No. 3 from the Pride are 13-1 on the year, and Caruna was second team all-state as a freshman.
• Favorite #4 — Ann Mason Moore & Agnes Shinn, Myers Park: The No. 2 and No. 3 from a loaded Mustangs team have lost once, and it was to the Pratiknjo duo.
• Dark Horse — Lucy Dimock & Caroline Morrison, New Hanover: The senior duo plays Nos. 3 and 5 most nights in singles, but as the Wildcats’ No. 2 doubles team they have one loss on the year, to the Leesville Road duo.

3A

Singles

• Favorite #1 — Rennie Liu, Forestview: She’s been a quarterfinalist twice and a semifinalist once, plus led her team to its first runner-up finish in the dual-team playoffs. Oh, and she’s undefeated this year.
• Favorite #2 — Emma Carver, North Lincoln: Carver’s only loss came to Liu in the regionals, and she was a quarterfinalist last year and a semifinalist the year before.
• Favorite #3 — Luci Falls, Lake Norman Charter: Falls is 23-0 but has a terrible first-round draw against Cape Fear’s Anna Piland, who has a doubles title, a doubles runner-up, and two dual-team titles in her career. Oh, and the winner might get Emma Carver (North Lincoln).
• Favorite #4 — McKinley Battle, Rocky Mount: The 20-0 junior fended off Anna Piland (Cape Fear) in the regionals to earn the crown.
• Dark Horse — Emma Shriver, Carrboro: The freshman has a favorable draw and could make it to the semifinals at minimum. After that, anything can happen.

Doubles

• Favorite #1 — Caroline Adkins & Kathryn Adkins, Fike: The seniors are defending champs. Enough said.
• Favorite #2 — Eleina Moon & Anslee Falls, Lake Norman Charter: The Nos. 2-3 for the Knights are undefeated as the team’s No. 1 doubles squad.
• Favorite #3 — Pauline Bui & Loren Galaviz, Terry Sanford: The Nos. 2-3 players for the Bulldogs haven’t lost as a doubles pair.
• Favorite #4 — Shea Bieniek & Andi Brinker, Cape Fear: The Colts’ Nos. 2-3 players have only lost to Terry Sanford’s Bui and Galaviz.
• Dark Horse — Laura Holland and Lyida Holland, Franklin: The West regional champs are a bit of an unknown as the No. 2 doubles team for an undefeated Panthers squad.

2A

Singles

• Favorite #1 — Olivia Hankinson, Research Triangle: She went from runner-up in 2021, to state champ in 2022… two-time champ in 2023 next?
• Favorite #2 — Jadan Rounds, CSD: The freshman went 11-1 in the state’s second-toughest 2A conference.
• Favorite #3 — Madison Utz, Pine Lake Prep: The 8-4 mark is deceiving: two losses are to Jadan Rounds (CSD) and the others are to players who won’t be in this field.
• Dark Horse — Ellie Spear, Holmes: Spear split head-to-head with Anna Katherine Medlin (Greene Central) and both went to either a third set or third-set tiebreaker.

Doubles

• Favorite #1 — Eliza Perry & Ramsey Ross, Hendersonville: The defending champs are back, and Perry has a chance to join an exclusive club of three-time doubles champs.
• Favorite #2 — Millie Wymbs & Cora Wymbs, Salisbury: They’ve only lost twice, and neither time to a 2A team.
• Favorite #3 — Katherine Southern & Victoria Zhou, Research Triangle: Winning the Mideast regional championship automatically makes you a contender.
• Dark Horse — Sarayu Brundavanam & Ginger Wagner, Raleigh Charter: Don’t be shocked if they go on a run to the semifinals.

1A

Singles

• Favorite #1 — Madison Darnell, Highland Tech: A third-set tiebreaker loss to South Point’s Lauren Lucas (a single state qualifier) was her only blemish on the year entering regionals.
• Favorite #2 — Manya Nallagangu, NCSSM-Morganton: She’s undefeated on the year and could give the Dragons their first state champ.
• Dark Horse — Elphie Spillman, Chatham Charter: The 10-7 mark is misleading. Four losses came to 2A players, two more came to Brianna Viets (Triangle Math & Science) and another one that she had, she later avenged.

Doubles

• Favorite #1 — Brianna Viets & Sasha Korjova, Triangle Math & Science: Viets was an all-state player at Cary as a freshman and sophomore. Her presence alone could lift the Tigers to an individual crown.
• Favorite #2 — Ava Darnell & Emerson Simmons, East Wilkes: Mount Airy may have the better top-to-bottom team in the 1A West, but these Cardinals players proved time and again that they were the toughest doubles team.
• Dark Horse — Carrie Marion & Ella Brant, Mount Airy: Could they earn yet another meeting with their East Wilkes conference mates, this time in the semifinals? Is the fourth time the charm?