By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan freshman Olyvia Brown and Pisgah senior Anna Shepard squared off at No. 3 singles in the first round of the 3A dual team tennis playoffs.

It was one of those truth-is-stranger-than-fiction moments.Wednesday’s match was proof that it’s a small world, after all.

Their fathers go way back.

Olyvia’s father is John Brown, who coaches wrestling and girls tennis for the Falcons. Anna’s father is Harold Shepard, the baseball and girls tennis coach at Pisgah and the associate AD.

At Western Carolina in the 1990s, Brown and Shephard were suitemates.

“We played Pisgah years ago, lost 5-4 at their place, and I saw Harold then,” Coach Brown said. “I was kind of surprised to see he was still at it. Tennis coaches don’t usually stay around all that long.”

Olyvia Brown played No. 4 most of the season for the Falcons, but has moved up to No. 3 for the last few matches. She won 6-1, 6-1 and helped the Falcons roll 6-3.

It was only the second time in program history the Falcons (16-2) have won a playoff match.

Also winning in singles for West were Autumn Yount, Emma Crider, Lucy Moore and Ally Suggs. They also won handily in straight sets.

The only singles loss for West was at No. 6 where Laney Moore lost a tight one that could’ve gone either way.

When a match is decided after singles in the playoffs, team don’t normally play doubles, but Coach Shepard requested before the match that doubles be played whether they were needed to determine a winner or not, and Coach Brown agreed.

West doesn’t have any doubles teams in the upcoming individual regionals — Yount qualified in singles — but the Falcons were happy to get in some doubles practice for their next dual team match.

Yount and Lucy Moore lost 8-6 at No. 1 doubles and Suggs and Laney Moore lost 8-6 at No. 3 doubles. Crider and Brown rolled 8-0 at No. 2 doubles.

Next for 11th-seeded West is a second-round match at sixth-seeded Piedmont (12-2). That will take place on Monday or Tuesday.

The individual regionals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, but if weather knocks out Friday’s action, the regionals will become a Saturday and Monday affair.

If the 3A Midwest Regional in Huntersville gets pushed back to Monday, the second round of the dual team playoffs will be moved back to Tuesday.

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Carson missed injured No. 1 player Allie Martin and lost 6-0 at North Buncombe.

South Rowan lost 9-0 at Montgomery Central.

In 2A, fifth-seeded Salisbury (14-2) had a first-round bye and will host 12th-seeded Pine Lake Prep (10-3) in the second round.