Heritage girls make tennis history with Final Four run
Already in the middle of an excellent all-around sports year, another Heritage Lady Generals’ team made more history this past Wednesday as the tennis team punched its ticket to the state Final Four for the very first time.
Facing the Sharks of Islands High School in Savannah, Heritage collected a 3-0 victory and extended its season.
“I’m really proud of these girls,” Coach Jeff Green said. “They’ve worked so hard and it really showed (today).
“(Going to the Final Four for the first time) is so special. We’ve had some really good teams here and this is really a testament to all of our former players and coaches, along with this (current) group of girls. They are so awesome to coach.”
While No. 1 singles player, senior Morgan Phillips, found herself in a very tough match, fellow senior and No. 2 singles player Bailey Christol helped set the tone with a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Elli Jost and Lauren Mock would follow suit with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles to put the Navy-and-Red a point away from victory.
That winning point came just a short time later as sophomore and first-year tennis player Mia Callahan scored a 6-3, 6-1 victory at No. 3 singles to clinch the match.
Phillips lost her first set, 6-3, and trailed 3-0 in the second set, while Rheagan Simmons and Kortney McKenzie had picked up a 6-1 win in the first set at No. 1 doubles. They trailed 4-3 in the second set when Callahan’s win stopped the match.
“Morgan and Bailey have been our anchors all year and, today Morgan was in a very tough match,” Green explained.
“But Bailey cruised past her opponent and our doubles teams got off to quick starts as well, so we just needed one more and Mia won the clincher. I’m just so proud of her and the girls were pumped.”
Unfortunately for the Navy-and-Red, their run to their first state championship match came to end on Saturday with a 4-0 loss at powerhouse North Oconee, the Region 8 champion. The Lady Titans will play in the Class AAAA state finals for the fifth straight time. They won it all in 2016, 2017 and 2018 before a 3-2 loss to Marist in the 2019 finals.
Phillips fell at No. 1 singles by a 6-0, 6-0 count, while
Callahan lost her No. 3 singles match, 6-3, 6-1. The team of Simmons and McKenzie was also beaten, 6-0, 6-0, while Jost and Mock suffered a 6-2, 6-1 defeat.
Christol won her first set, 6-4, and had a 4-0 lead in the second set when her No. 2 singles match was stopped.
Green had nothing but praise for his two seniors.
“Morgan and Bailey have raised the bar of our program to an all-time high and I can’t wait to see where these two end up after college and in the real world,” he said. “They will be missed tremendously in the years to come.
“As for the returning players, we’ve seen the pinnacle of Class AAAA tennis in Georgia. We got close to touching it this year and (we) look forward to working even harder next year to get another chance.”