STANHOPE -- A first-round state playoff sweep often appears like a piece of cake, but the Southern Nash boys tennis team certainly had more than its fill of visiting Western Guilford on Tuesday.

The Firebirds fell behind a set in three minutes but rebounded with five tiebreak wins to hold off the Hornets, 6-0, and advance to next week's second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A dual-team playoffs. Southern Nash, seeded No. 1 from the NEW 6 Conference, will visit the Mid-State Conference's top seed Burlington Williams.

"It was a very hard, tough first round for both teams," Southern head coach Brad Joyner said. "They had a very solid team, and we knew that going in, and it turned out exactly like we thought."

Southern Nash's No. 5 Isaac Arnold and No. 6 Cody Brandt both faltered in the first set of their matches against Brandon Reid and Gill Hawkes, respectively. But once the Firebirds pair regained their focus and settled down, they came back with wins in the second set and tiebreaker, with Brandt's win proving the clincher for Southern Nash.

But Firebirds' No. 1 Michael Barnes added even more drama, winning two tiebreakers in an extremely close match with Jason Hull of Western Guilford, the No. 2 seed from the Triad Conference. After losing the first set 6-2, Barnes eked out 7-6 (8-6) tiebreak win, working against Hull's hard-hitting style.

In response, Barnes backed off his own power game and played the angles against Hull. But even as Hull continued to battle and place shots all over the court, Barnes persevered.

"His strokes, I mean, they were good," Barnes said. "He was running me to death, and I don't know how I didn't just fall out. It was just in the back of my mind, it's your last year, senior year, just got to do it now."

Barnes eventually did put Hull away, 12-10, in the final set. And even though an easy win might been a bit more enjoyable for Barnes, a hard-fought -- although clearly exhausting -- win was much more gratifying afterward.

Western Guilford (11-7), however, came into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed from the Triad Conference, thoroughly tested in the regular season and feeling confident. But the Hornets could not match Southern's ability to win tightly contested points, which proved to be the difference.

"I'm very happy with the way we played except on big points," Western head coach Danny Leonard said. "The biggest thing that happened today was that Southern Nash won the big points. They got themselves into position for big points and then they won them.

"What surprises me about that is that we played such a tough schedule. Normally we do very well on big points because of the caliber of teams we've played, but that's a tribute to Southern Nash. They just played better than we did today."

The Firebirds get a rematch against Burlington Williams, who ousted them last year in the state playoffs, next Tuesday at 4 p.m. And while a matchup of this magnitude is almost always a big challenge, Joyner felt like it made Tuesday's tough win even that much more important.

"It's going to be a fight," he said. "But this helps prepare you for a tough, tense situation. That's why I'm encouraged going up there and playing Burlington Williams because of what happened today."

mlindsay@wilsontimes.com | 265-7807

SOUTHERN NASH 6,

WESTERN GUILFORD 0

Michael Barnes (SN) def. Jason Hull, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 12-10; Ethan Page (SN) def. Anthony Bouton, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6); Nicolas Finet (SN) def. Patrick Lewis, 6-1, 6-1; Kyle Ramsey (SN) def. Danny Allen, 6-1, 6-1; Isaac Arnold (SN) def. Brandon Reid, 4-6, 6-3 (10-3); Cody Brandt (SN) def. Gill Hawkes, 4-6, 6-2 (10-3).