Junior tennis player Sam Bowers and senior Zeb Richardson each qualified for regionals in the 2A state playoff bracket, thanks to their strong performances at the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Championship match held Tuesday at Elkin.

The Huskies had two singles competitors and two doubles teams entered in the match.

Richardson won his first match easily over Alex Sales of Forbush, 6-0, 6-0, then followed that up with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over Steven Furr of Wilkes Central.

In the 2A championship round, Wilkes Central’s Garrett Lakey got the best of Richardson, beating him 6-0, 6-0. By reaching the finals, Richardson qualified himself for regional play, which begins May 4 in Lexington.

“Zeb played very strong in the first two rounds. His first serves were going in and his ground strokes were consistent,” said head coach Larry Dix.

Bowers also did enough to reach the regionals by making it to the semifinal round. Bowers beat Kent McCollum of Forbush 7-6, 6-0 but lost to Lakey in the semifinal round, 0-6, 0-6.

The doubles teams struggled early on and could never bounce back in their first round matches. Starmount’s duo of Nathan Paloalto and John McKaig defeated Will and Alex Church in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Kartik Patel and Parker Jordon of Wilkes Central defeated Lucas Zeller and Josh Meghoo in the first round as well.

“We will be working very hard in practice to get ready for the regionals,” said Coach Dix. “I am proud of the entire team for their efforts and dedication this year.”