LaFayette tennis teams earn state tournament berths

The LaFayette Ramblers and Lady Ramblers both qualified for the Class AAAA state tournament at the Region 6 tournament at Dalton’s Lakeshore Park last week.

The LaFayette boys finished as the No. 3 seed and were slated to play at Jefferson in the opening round of state on Tuesday, while the LaFayette girls were scheduled to host Oconee County on Monday as region runners-up.

Due to newspaper deadlines, results of that match were not available as of press time.

LaFayette’s girls, the No. 3 seed, went 2-1 in the region tournament, coasting to a win No. 6 seed Gilmer before avenging a regular season loss to No. 2 seed Northwest Whitfield on Tuesday.

LaFayette girls 3, Gilmer 0

Madison Denny won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Madison Harris and Hannah Durham claimed a 6-0, 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles and S.J. Oxford and Ida Scoggins coasted to a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles to clinch the match.

LaFayette girls 3, Northwest 2

The Lady Bruins won at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to put them one point from clinching the semifinal match when the Lady Ramblers suddenly caught fire.

Harris and Durham won 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles, while Oxford and Scoggins picked up a three-set victory, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. The match would come down to No. 3 singles where Rachel Wallin came through with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) win.

Heritage girls 3, LaFayette 0

Another regular season payback was not in the cards for the Lady Ramblers on Wednesday morning as the Lady Generals won the region title by winning both doubles matches and No. 3 singles to clinch the victory.

Reagan Christol and Katelyn Burns beat Harris and Durham, 6-2, 6-4, while the team of Erin Hulsey and Kinsey Hargis claimed a 6-0, 6-3 win over Oxford and Scoggins. A 6-3, 6-3 singles win by Maleah McAllister over Wallin sealed the title for the Navy-and-Red.

Caroline Horsley was up a set (7-5) on Denny at No. 1 singles when play was stopped. LaFayette’s No. 2 singles player, Asberri Freeman, had won the first set (6-4) against Emma Lokey.

Northwest Whitfield defeated Pickens in the third-place match.

LaFayette boys 3, Southeast Whitfield 0

The Ramblers opened tournament play with a win over the Raiders. All three wins came in singles matches. Jarrod Sitton (No. 1) won 6-3, 6-2. Noah Matthews (No. 2) claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win, while Brad Templeton (No. 3) won 6-0, 6-0.

Heritage boys 3, LaFayette 1

In the semifinals, the Generals got a victory by Leo Peace, who beat Sitton, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 1 singles, while Tim Grayson beat Matthews at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-2.

The Ramblers got a win at No. 2 doubles as Isaiah Southern and Andrew Long beat Blake Richardson and Ethan Bone, 7-5, 6-2, but the Generals would wrap up a spot in the finals as Mark Crane and Shaw Boland stopped Aaron Asbeury and Dillon Hughes, 6-2, 6-3.

LaFayette boys 3, Northwest 2

The Ramblers earned the No. 3 seed by beating the Bruins on Wednesday.

At No. 1 singles, Sitton beat Jordan King in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. Templeton blanked Tyler Bourff, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 3 singles, while the No. 2 team of Southern and Long claimed a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Trevor Ponders and Brady Stroud.

Andrew Bridges, the Bruins’ No. 2 singles player, beat Matthews, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, while Northwest also won at No. 1 doubles as Kyle McCutchion and Levi Gentry beat Asbeury and Hughes, 6-4, 6-4.

Gilmer beat Heritage in the finals.