EDENTON – Hertford County’s duo of Brittany Hignite and Ally Rushing won the doubles championship here last week.

The HCHS team topped Edenton’s Lauren Williams and Ashley Jackson by a score of 8-1 in the Northeastern Coastal Conference tournament and helped propel the Lady Bears to a second-place finish behind Edenton.

Along the way, the duo defeated Northeastern High School’s tandem of Sarah Elswick and Molly Miller as well as knocking off Eliza Vaughan and Amber Stanley of First Flight. They won each of those matches 8-0.

The ladies then defeated Edenton’s Emily Bunch and Jessica Nixon by an 8-5 count to punch their card into the finals.

&uot;I’m very proud of the way the team performed today,&uot; HCHS rookie skipper Rick Heckler said. &uot;Brittany and Ally played very well all day, especially in the finals.&uot;

Tana Sisler won her first-round singles match by defeating Courtney Cahoon of Manteo 8-1. She then fell to third-seed Anna Winslow of Pasquotank 8-3.

Lyndsay Burns lost her first-round singles match to Cuyler Wells of First Flight by a count of 8-2 while the doubles team of Lauren Baker and Becca Barket fell to Manteo’s Andrea Cahoon and Marinna Copanezos by a slim 9-7 margin.

The Lady Bears will host a first-round dual team match today against the number three seed from the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference.

Hignite and Rushing have also earned singles bids to the Eastern Regional Tournament to be held October 22-23 at Barton College in Wilson.

Sisler and Burns will be competing in doubles.