Heritage tennis teams net first-round victories
The Heritage Generals and Lady Generals headed just south of Atlanta this past Wednesday to open the 2022 Class AAAA state tennis tournament.
Both teams came into their matches as underdogs based on seeding, but it did not seem to bother the Navy-and-Red as both teams scored victories to advance to the second round.
At the Clayton County Tennis Center, the Generals, the No. 3 seed out of Region 7, shellacked the Fayette County Tigers, 5-0. Fayette County came into the match as the No. 2 seed from Region 5.
Nathan Minton scored a 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 1 singles, J.T Halleron won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, while Kaleb Biddle picked up a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3 singles.
Then in doubles, the No. 1 team of Jedd Johnson and Tanner Eady posted a 6-3, 6-1 win, while Anderson Britton and Walker Driskell shut out their opponents, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 2 doubles.
The Generals’ next opponent will be Region 3 champion Benedictine, who shut out Region 1 No. 4 seed Dougherty, 5-0.
Not to be outdone, the Lady Generals took it to Region 5 champion Hampton and handed them a 3-1 loss on their own home court. Heritage came into the match as the No. 4 seed from Region 7.
The teams split the first two singles matches. Mia Callahan dropped a 6-4, 6-1 decision at No. 1 singles, but Kortney McKenzie got the point back for Heritage with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles.
However, two easy victories in doubles gave Heritage the victory. Rhegan Simmons and Lauren Mock earned a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 doubles, while Brooke Matherly and Ella Blansit won their match by an identical score.
Elli Jost, playing No. 3 singles, finished off an 8-2 victory in what was essentially an exhibition match.
The Lady Generals will hit the road again in the next round with a trip to Savannah to take on Region 3 champion Islands. Heritage went on the road and beat Islands, 3-1, in last year’s Elite Eight.
Heritage’s second-round matches will both be played at the Bacon Park Tennis Center in Savannah. Those matches were slated for 11 a.m. on Tuesday of this week and, due to newspaper deadlines, could not be included in today’s edition.
The first round was an extremely successful one for teams in Region 7, who went 8-0 against teams in Region 5. The four boys’ teams gave up just one point in four matches, while the four girls’ teams allowed just three points.
GORDON LEE LOSES IN OPENING ROUND
Gordon Lee, the No. 3 seed from Region 6, had its firstround match in the Class A Public School boys’ tournament this past Wednesday and saw its season come to a close with a 4-1 loss at Commerce, the runner-ups from Region 8.
The only win for the Trojans came at No. 2 doubles as Andrew Bailey and Andrew Sizemore posted a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
In the other doubles match, Bowden Gass and Cordell Fowler lost 6-2, 6-2. Noah Dockery suffered a 6-1, 6-1 loss at No. 1 singles, while Ben Stoker lost his No. 2 singles match by an identical score.
Cambell Pierce had dropped the first set in his No. 3 singles match, 6-3, when play was halted.
Meanwhile, the Lady Trojans saw their 2022 season come to a close with a 4-0 loss at Lake Oconee Academy last Tuesday.
Ella Atkinson dropped a 6-0, 6-0 decision at No. 1 singles, and Chloe Vann fell at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-4.
The No. 1 doubles team of Natalie Jones and Francis Lewis were beaten, 6-3, 6-2, while the No. 2 team of Mackenzie Taylor and Madilyn Bailey lost by scores of 6-2 and 6-2.
Reece Roberts won the first set at No. 3 singles, 6-1, when play was halted.
Ava Rose played an exhibition singles match for Gordon Lee and fell, 6-0.
RINGGOLD FALLS ON THE ROAD
Ringgold, who earned the No. 4 seed out of Region 6, also began play in the Class AAA boys’ state playoffs on Wednesday, but suffered a 3-0 road loss at Oconee County, the champions of Region 8.
Individual results had not been reported as of press time.