Dazzling duo: Burbage, Niederhauser

Pam Pack doubles team tabbed WDN Tennis Players of the Year
By KEVIN TRAVIS
Sports Editor
Shannon Niederhauser playfully jumped into the arms of Davey Ann Burbage, pretending they had just won a big match, prior to an interview at the Washington High School tennis courts. When they sat down for the interview, the two got serious.
They shared that same mentality — joking around at times, but getting serious when the time called for it, all season. It certainly worked for the two. The Washington Pam Pack tennis players, who joined forces as a doubles team, went 11-3 overall and advanced to the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A regional tournament.
Because of their success, Burbage and Niederhauser were named the WDN Tennis Players of the Year.
“Being a senior and this being my second year of tennis, this is a great award,” Burbage said. “I hope it leads to many more.”
Niederhauser shared in Burbage’s enthusiasm.
“It’s exciting to win it,” Niederhauser said. “It’s honorable.”
The Pam Pack duo played together for just six weeks. The two had other partners before they joined forces, and the move certainly paid off in large dividends.
Washington co-coach Michelle Elks, who was assisted by co-coach Beth Pippin, said she was happy to see Burbage and Niederhauser receive the honor.
“I’m very proud of them for getting the award,” Elks said. “I think they deserve it and they earned it. They were able to jell as a team and use their strengths to work together.”
Elks said the two used their abilities to form a strong team.
“Davey Ann was so strong at the net,” Elks said. “She’s tall and when you have a tall, aggressive person at the net, that can be intimidating. Because of that, your opponents will try to keep it away from the net. When they do that, Shannon was back there and she can dig the ball out and keep it in play.”
The two players used their athleticism to cover plenty of ground on the courts. Burbage also plays basketball and softball for Washington, while Niederhauser is captain of the swim team and also plays soccer.
It wasn’t strictly athleticism that led to their success. The Pam Pack players said their mindset played a big role.
“We work well together and we went out there to have fun,” Niederhauser said. “We didn’t take it quite as seriously as a lot of other doubles teams. That happens to work for us.”
The attitude carried Burbage and Niederhauser all the way to Barton College for the regional tournament. They opened with a 7-5, 6-1 win over White Oak’s Dominique Moore and Munazza Abraham. Rocky Mount’s Kate Gray and Carolina Gray were able to capture a win in straight sets over the Washington pair in the second round.
While happy to earn a victory at regionals, they agreed that a win in the Coastal Conference tournament over South Central’s Elizabeth Campbell and Molly Hosteller, the top two players for the Falcons, was the highlight of the season.
“Beating South Central was definitely the highlight,” said Burbage, who went 14-3 overall in doubles action. “We lost the first set 6-1 and then we were down 4-2 in the second set, but we came back to win 7-6. Then we won the third set 6-3. That helped us get to regionals.”
Getting to regionals was a far cry from Niederhauser’s preseason goal.
“I started at the bottom of the ladder, just like last year, and I had to work my way up,” said Niederhauser, who is hoping for more tennis success as a senior next year. “My goal was just to get into the top six (singles players). That’s all I really cared about.”
Along the way, Burbage and Niederhauser formed a tight bond. They clicked instantly, and their cohesiveness led to plenty of wins.
“We just liked having fun,” said Burbage, who hopes to attend college at UNC-Wilmington next year. “We had a good time.”