The Union Pines Viking tennis team is hosting the two-day 3A Mideast Individual Regional Championships today and tomorrow.

The tournament will be held at Union Pines High School and New Century Middle School.

Competing teams include those from the Cape Fear Valley, Triad and Mid-State conferences. Play begins at 2 p.m. today.

Union Pines has six players competing in the tournament.

Vike senior Will Fondrie, the CFV Conference Singles Champion, will be a top seed in the tournament, while CFV singles runner-up Dillon Rice is a two-seed. Fondrie defeated Rice 10-7, to take the conference singles title in a compelling championship match in Sanford.

The Union Pines' netters have three teams competing in doubles action. Jake Waits and Jay O'Connor teamed up to edge out fellow Vikings Josh Bryant and Nolan Evans by a score of 10-6 and claim the CFV doubles' crown at the league tournament. As a result both teams qualified for the event. Also in, as a doubles' third-seed for Union Pines, are Jay Stalls and Jon Fondrie who earned a regional berth by advancing to the semifinals in the CFV conference championship.

The top four singles and doubles finishers from the Mideast Regional will go on to advance to the 3A Individual Men's Tennis Championships in Burlington, which is scheduled for May 15 and 16 at the Burlington Parks and Recreation Center.

Contact F.W. Manning II at 639-5481 or by email at fwm2@nc.rr.com