Jordan-Matthews completed its ultimate goal of winning a state title in tennis on Saturday morning with a convincing 8-1 thumping of eastern North Carolina representative Spring Creek High School of Goldsboro to capture the 2003 1A state crown at the Burlington Tennis Center in the finals of the Dual Team playoffs.

After yet another celebratory victory dance to the OutKast tune of "Hey Ya", emotions were high for the 15-member J-M squad, ranging from sheer joy to even a touch of sadness.

Routing Spring Creek capped what was a perfect 24-0 season for the Lady Jets. It also marked the final time six Jordan-Matthews seniors would suit up for the old Blue and Gold.

"This group came up here (Burlington) on a mission and there was no stopping them," said J-M coach Anne Mathias after the triumph. "I’m so happy for them because our team is such a good group of individuals on and off the court. Still, there’s a bit of sadness because it was the last match for six of our girls."

The six seniors form a group who’s success is unparalleled on the court in school history.

The regular season is over and now the fun begins as the playoffs get underway across the state of North Carolina this Friday night.

Two Chatham County teams made the playoffs, Northwood and Jordan-Matthews, while the Bears of Chatham Central failed to qualify.

In Pittsboro, Northwood closed the year 3-3 in Mid-State 2A play to garner a 4th-place finish in the conference while ending the regular season at 7-4 overall.

The Chargers notched the 11th-seed out in the Eastern 2AA bracket, and drew Currituck High School out of the split 2A/3A Northeastern Coastal Conference.

While the Red and White clad Knights tallied only a 3-7 record on the seaon, NW coach Bill Hall is quick to point out Currituck handled all the 2A teams it played in the league.

"They took care of the 2A teams in the conference and their losses came to 3A schools," noted Hall. "So the record is a bit misleading."