Special to RRSPIN.com
The girls will be facing off against the best from the Northern 
Carolina, Four County, Mid-State, and Three Rivers Conferences. 
Matches are slated to begin at 2:00 PM. 

Let’s find out a little about these two outstanding tennis players 
who will be representing Roanoke Rapids High School and how 
they got there. 

Jenny Sheley is a newcomer to the area. She and her family 
moved to the community just this summer. Jenny has been 
playing since the 8th grade. She shows good skills, with good 
ground strokes and a strong backhand. Jenny made an immediate 
impact on the courts, winning all of her preseason challenge 
matches with a total of 61 games won, making her the #1 seed 
on the Lady Jackets team. 

As the Lady Jackets’ number 1 seed, Jenny posted a 2-3 conference 
record, with key wins over Franklinton and Southern Vance. She 
was recognized by the conference as one of the top singles players, 
being named as a member of the all-conference team.

Addie Nixon is no stranger to Roanoke Rapids ladies’ tennis. This 
is Addie’s third year as a Lady Jacket netter. Last year, she played 
as the number 3 singles seed for the Lady Jackets. She and Peyton
Meinsen teamed up as a doubles team and qualified for regionals, 
which was played in Reidsville.

Addie was a preseason favorite to make the top two on the team. 
She was very strong in her preseason challenge matches, losing 
only to Sheley and tying number 3 seed Emily Burnette, amassing 
a total of 53 challenge games won. Addie played very strong as the 
Lady Jackets’ number 2 seed in singles. She posted a 3-1 record in 
conference play with key wins against Franklinton (6-0, 6-0), 
Southern Vance (6-0, 6-0), and Bunn (6-1, 6-2). Unfortunately, 
Addie was not able to play the last two matches of the season due 
to illness.

Jenny and Addie paired up during the regular season to play as 
RRHS’s number 1 doubles combination. They amassed a 3-1 
conference record, defeating the number 1 doubles teams from 
Franklinton, Southern Vance, and Bunn. 

They continued their winning ways in conference tournament play. 
The first match posted the Lady Jacket duo against Sage Moore and 
Emily Kwiatkowski of Bunn. They would defeat their opponents 
handily, 6-1, 6-0.

The second round of conference tournament play would be much 
more difficult for the RRHS pair. They had to face the duo of Rachel 
Huang and Stacy Powell from Durham School of the Arts. Huang 
and Powell jumped on the Jackets ladies quickly. The pair from 
Durham dropped Jenny and Addie in the first set, 6-1. The second 
set started out much like the first set had ended, with Sheley and 
Nixon falling behind quickly. About halfway through the second set 
it seemed like the Jackets duo caught their breaths. They quickly 
fought back but it proved to be too little too late as DSA took the 
set, 7-5, thus winning the match.

This loss dropped Jenny and Addie into the loser’s bracket with one 
more chance to qualify for regionals. Here they were paired up 
against Yvonne Stills and Natalie Russell from South Granville. 
The first match went back and forth, with fatigue showing on both 
teams. The South Granville ladies would win the first set of the 
match, 6-4. 

The second set was a completely different story for the Jackets 
ladies. They came screaming out of the gate, seeming to have 
gotten that second wind again. It was as though everything the 
South Granville pair would try, Jenny and Addie had an answer for. 
The RRHS ladies would win almost every point of the set, coming 
out victorious, 6-0.

With the score of the match tied 1-1, the two teams were forced 
to play a 10-point tie break to determine the winner. The tie break 
would go back and forth, with the Lady Jackets eventually emerging 
victorious, 10-6. This win granted Jenny and Addie the final berth 
into the regional tournament.

The hope is that these two young ladies will take their strong wills 
to win into the regionals, hopefully qualifying for the state 
tournament on October 24 and 25.

The future looks bright for Roanoke Rapids ladies tennis. With no 
seniors on this year’s team, Jenny and Addie lead a group of six 
juniors that will be leading the Lady Jacket attack in 2015 as 
seniors. They were joined by three sophomores and three freshmen. 
These 12 ladies are some of the most talented, most athletic players 
the Lady Jackets have had in years. Things are looking good for the 
Lady Jackets.