Spring Fling: Baylor girls win state tennis title again
Baylor wins seventh straight state title
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Drew Hawkins did her best to contain her emotions Wednesday.
The Baylor senior tennis player claimed a straight-sets victory over GPS’s Maddox Bandy in the Division II-AA team state championship match, hugged the Bruisers junior and walked off the court.
So far, so good.
Then she embraced her father Alex, and the tears, the emotions of seven years at Baylor came out at once.
The Lady Red Raiders claimed their seventh consecutive state title with a 4-0 win over the Bruisers at the Adams Tennis Center. Baylor coach Dustin Kane called it one of their most complete victories in a season that ended with a 12-2 record.
“We came out of the gates ready to play,” he said.
Hawkins described her emotions as a “happy sad.”
“It’s weird to be done,” she said. “I’ve loved it so much. This is a lot more special than the other ones; it means a lot because it’s the last one.”
Hawkins teamed with Ashton Jenne for a doubles win, as did Lauren Carelli and Lilly Mooney to clinch the doubles point for the Lady Raiders. Hawkins, Carelli and Landie McBrayer provided three singles wins, with McBrayer’s 6-1, 6-2 win over Maggie Eslinger the clincher.
The Lady Raiders lose Hawkins, who has signed to continue her career at Belmont, and Jenne out of their top six. The pair were part of the program’s past five state titles.
The Bruisers (8-6) don’t lose anyone from a team that returned to the title match for the first time since 2014.
“We had a great season,” GPS coach Sue Bartlett said. “The girls have all improved. We’re disappointed we lost, but they (Baylor) have a great team and they played well.
“There are some positives to take from it — we have everybody back, so we’re going to keep working on it and hopefully come back next year.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.