Walker County Girls’ Co-Players of the Year
The LaFayette Lady Ramblers’ tennis team enjoyed an excellent 2021 season, finishing 12-3 overall and getting back to the state tournament after earning the No. 2 seed from 6-AAA in their first year in the region.
Of course, you don’t win 12 of 15 matches without having some outstanding individual seasons and that’s why the Lady Ramblers are collectively being recognized today as the Walker County Girls’ Tennis Players of the Year for the 2021 campaign.
No. 1 singles player, Abby Keys, ended her year with a
10-5 campaign and the sophomore said she thoroughly enjoyed this past spring on the court.
“It was so exciting just to make it to state,” she said. “Even though we didn’t make it past the first round, it was still just exciting to make it there because we hadn’t been there in a while. I enjoy playing and it’s a lot of fun making new friends, even if they’re on other teams. I’ve made friends with some of them too.”
“I had a really good year, but I’m definitely going to miss our seniors,” she added. “It feels really good to share the award and I’m proud of all of them.”
Senior Grace Hamilton, the No. 2 singles player who went 9-4 on the year and was leading in a match at the region tournament when it was halted, had praise for her teammates.
“I don’t think anyone else deserves this award more than my teammates,” she said. “I’ve loved playing with them over the past four years and growing our friendships.
“This season was one of the best seasons because we were the most experienced and had the skills from the past four years of working hard. I’m so proud of us for making it to (the) first round of state after getting second in the region tournament for the first time in a few years.”
Hamilton will be attending Dalton State in the fall and while she will not continue to play competitively, she said the sport would “always be a part” of her life.
“I plan to stay close to home, get a degree in business and hopefully, in the near future, start a business of my own,” she added.
“I hope to get together with all of my past teammates and play together sometimes.”
Senior Rylee Stansberry and sophomore Macy Mashburn split time at No. 3 singles. Stansberry had three victories and was leading in two more at the 6-AAA tournament when play was stopped after the Lady Ramblers had clinched the overall match. Meanwhile, Mashburn posted five wins as the duo combined to post points in eight different matches.
“It feels pretty awesome to know we made Rambler history in my senior year,” Stansberry recalled. “It’s a pretty awesome feeling. My year was pretty crazy, not going to lie. With working and taking college classes, it was very stressful, but tennis was like an outlet for me.
“I really got to grow in the team this year, especially playing varsity and sharing with a new member of our team. That was very fun for me.”
She will also attend Dalton State and said she hasn’t ruled out possibly of trying to make the college team. More than anything, however, she said she would hang on to the memories that playing tennis at LaFayette gave her.
“There’s a lot of fun memories. Personally, I broke a net,” she added with a laugh. “But it’s those fun memories that are definitely going to be what I hold on to the most.”
Like Keys, Mashburn said she would also miss this year’s senior class.
“I felt like I had a pretty good season and I’m going to miss all of our seniors next year,” she explained. “I feel like they were really a big part of our team, so it feels really good (to share the award). I’m very proud of how our team did this year.
“I just want to have a good season and I hope we make it to state again next year.”
LaFayette’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Kloe Ludy and LaTyah Barber gave the Lady Ramblers two exceptional athletes and two fierce competitors. Both will be playing other sports other than tennis in college.
“It was really fun,” said Ludy, who will be playing volleyball for Savannah State. “(Tennis) started out as something to do in the spring just to stay in shape, but once I became part of the team, it was really fun and competitive for all of us.”
The duo went undefeated until the region tournament and ended the year with a sterling 13-2 mark.
“We did pretty well this year and we played some pretty competitive teams,” Ludy continued. “I’ll miss all the people and all the connections we made, along with all the bus rides. It just feels really good to share this with all of my friends.”
Barber, also a three-time Walker County Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year award winner, will continue that sport at the collegiate level as she has signed on to play at Chattanooga State next season.
“Kloe and I had a great season,” Barber said. “We went undefeated in the region (in the regular season) and didn’t lose a game, so that was a nice memory. It was a lot of fun.”
Barber, who also played basketball with Ludy at LHS, said that their competitive natures were beneficial to their success on the court.
“We’re both really, really competitive and we’re also good friends,” she added. “We’ve known each other and we just play well together. We just have that same mindset when we play and it just worked for us.”
Barber also added that she would miss the bus rides to away matches.
“The tennis bus rides were just so much fun and (I’ll) just (miss) the team,” she said. “Just being around them, laughing, joking and goofing off.”
Then at No. 2 doubles, seniors Megan Torbett and Caylee Purcell also went out on a season to remember as they finished their final year at 13-2.
“We’re all friends, so it’s like one big happy accomplishment together,” Torbett said of the collective award. “It’s more than just ‘I won the award’. It was ‘we all won an award’.”
She said, more than anything, she would miss the fun that playing tennis at LaFayette brought.
“It was more than just playing. We were out there having fun,” she continued. “I’ll miss the team. We’ve been playing together since we were freshmen and I know we’ll all miss each other.”
Torbett will be attending college alongside Purcell.
“(The award) feels good and I’m proud of it,” Purcell added. “I thought we all did good this year and it was fun. I enjoyed it a lot and it was a good year for (the two of) us and, really, the whole team.”
While she and Torbett don’t plan to play collegiately, they said they might have to break out the rackets from time to time and enjoy some friendly competition.
“I’ll miss all my friends and being able to see everyone every day like I’ve been used to,” she added.
LaFayette will be sporting a new look next year as most of the team will have graduated. That means some newer faces will be called upon to step up their games and continue the tradition and Keys is hopeful the 2022 team can do just that.
“They are all really improving and getting better,” she said. “Hopefully it’ll go really great.”