BURLINGTON, N.C. — On a morning where every point seemed to be settled only after one long rally after another, a champion was going to be crowned by whichever team could outlast the other.

In the end, Pine Lake Prep had enough.

The Pride defeated Research Triangle 5-3 for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A girls tennis championship on Saturday at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Research Triangle (16-1), the No. 1 seed from the East, went up 2-0 to start with relatively quick wins by No. 3 Alexis Zhao and No. 6 Devna Patel.

But Pine Lake Prep (15-1), the No. 3 seed from the West who stopped a five-year title run by Hendersonville with a win in the regional final, held a 4-2 lead after singles with three marathon victories — at No. 1 by 2A singles champ Mallory Aull, No. 2 by Madison Utz, and No. 3 at Isael Sieni. Molly Morgan Johnson’s win at No. 5 singles was the fourth for the Pride.

In doubles, the Raptors cut the lead to 4-3 with a win by the No. 2 doubles pair of Eliza Basch and Katherine Southern. However, a win at No. 1 doubles by Aull and Utz clinched the match.

Research Triangle was making its third appearance in the dual-team championship, having finished runner-up to Hendersonville in 2022 and 2024. This is Pine Lake Prep’s third state title in team competitions, having won twice in 1A, a dual-team title in 2019 and the one-off individual team tournament format used in 2020.

After the match, each team announced its sportsmanship winners. They were Research Triangle’s Devna Patel and Pine Lake Prep’s Nya Morrical.

Box Score: Pine Lake Prep 5, Research Triangle 3

Singles Matches

#1 — Mallory Aull (Pine Lake Prep) def. Victoria Zhou (Research Triangle) 6-4, 6-4
#2 — Madison Utz (Pine Lake Prep) def. Eliza Basch (Research Triangle) 7-5, 6-4
#3 — Alexis Zhao (Research Triangle) def. Sophie Stanford (Pine Lake Prep) 6-1, 6-0
#4 — Isael Sieni (Pine Lake Prep) def. Katherine Southern (Research Triangle) 6-6 (7-4), 6-3
#5 — Molly Morgan Johnson (Pine Lake Prep) def. Maya Urquhart (Research Triangle) 6-4, 6-2
#6 — Devna Patel (Research Triangle) def. Taylor Shelton (Pine Lake Prep) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles Matches

#1 — Mallory Aull/Madison Utz (Pine Lake Prep) def. Victoria Zhou/Alexis Zhao (Research Triangle) 8-3
#2 — Eliza Basch/Katherine Southern (Research Triangle) def. Sophie Stanford/Isabel Sieni (Pine Lake Prep) 8-5
(did not finish) #3 — Molly Morgan Johnson/Taylor Shelton (Pine Lake Prep) led 7-3 vs. Devna Patel/Kieran Patel (Research Triangle)

2A Dual-Team Championship MVP — Madison Utz (Pine Lake Prep)