Baylor in three tennis finals, GPS’s Bandy in the other
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — On the girls’ side of the private school tennis individual state tournament, Thursday was more of the domination that has resulted in seven singles and four doubles champions from the Chattanooga area this decade.
On the boys’ side, Brandon Kali provided a little bit of new blood.
An all-Baylor final in girls’ doubles and GPS’s Maddox Bandy going for her third individual state title highlight the final round of action today. In addition, Baylor’s Kali is in the boys’ singles final, while Baylor’s Hunter Smith and Benjamin Taverne are in the doubles final.
Play starts with the girls’ title matches at 10 EDT this morning. The boys are scheduled to begin at noon EDT.
Kali missed last year’s state tournament due to a stress fracture, but wins over Christian Brothers’ Kells Hecht and McCallie’s Hank Leathers have given him another opportunity to face Montgomery Bell Academy’s Baylor Sai, who has beat Kali five times so far, most in three sets.
“I think I played pretty well today,” Kali said. “I’m disappointed in the team result yesterday, but I put everything behind me and want to win one more time for my team. I kind of wish this was on a separate weekend, but I still feel like I’m playing for my team.
“I still have coaches and teammates cheering me on, but it’s a little personal and I could get a little personal satisfaction if I could beat Baylor (Sai).”
Bandy, a two-time champion in doubles, will play against St. Mary’s sophomore Eesha Gudiseva. If she wins, she will be the first GPS singles champion since Sarah Evans — now an assistant coach with the Bruisers — in 2010.
“I played fine,” Bandy said. “I tried to play smart and not waste energy because it was so hot out there. I’m excited about tomorrow, but I’m also trying to stay calm so I don’t get nervous.”
Bandy admitted she knew nothing about Gudiseva, but she has a typical game plan for those instances.
“I go out there and try to figure out their weaknesses from the start and see if I can utilize those later on,” she said, “but most of the time my game plan is to keep hitting the ball down the middle of the court until I figure out and get comfortable with how I’m playing that day and see what I can do.”
In the girls’ doubles final, Lauren Carelli and Lily Mooney will face Presley Thomas and Landie McBrayer, meaning Baylor is assured of its first doubles title since Samantha Caswell and McCall Morgan in 2014.
“It’s fun that we all made it to the finals, but it’s not going to be fun playing each other,” Mooney said.
Added Thomas, who will play at Alabama-Huntsville: “It’s going to be interesting because we both respect each other and just want to have a good match.”
Notre Dame’s Will Ingell and Bernard Lisy earned a firstround straight-sets win before falling to St. George’s John Kimball and Walker Stearns in the semifinals. McCallie’s Charlie Park and Bruce Renner also fell in the semis, as did Baylor’s Anna Hawkins, whose sister Drew was a three-time state champion.