Lady Trojans finish out unbeaten regular season
The current seniors on Soddy-Daisy’s girls’ tennis team were denied having undefeated head-to-head seasons each year throughout their high school careers because of what happened in 2016. A close loss to East Hamilton around this time of year left the Lady Hurricanes District 5-AAA champions and left the Lady Trojans from a postseason advance.
But those seniors helped make it three of four undefeated regular seasons Tuesday at the Racquet Club by defeating East Hamilton 6-3 and winning the district title.
Soddy-Daisy will advance to Region 3 play May 10 at the Champions Club, where the Lady Trojans will take on District 6 champion Cookeville.
Soddy-Daisy’s No. 1 singles player, Olivia Crawley, won her match 8-6 over Sydney Datillo. Crawley lost her first match of the season when the Lady Trojans played McMinn County and hasn’t lost in the 11 matches since.
“We just wanted redemption, really,” Crawley said of the Lady ‘Canes being the final regular-season opponent. “They knocked us out of district last year. We always know it’s going to be a tough match with them. They had one senior last year and we graduated one, but we got it this year.”
No. 2 singles player Shelby Noe ended the season with a 10-2 mark, and she and Taylor Stults are 7-0 together in doubles.
Soddy-Daisy coach Rob
Wood said one key reason for the team’s success has been the play of Kaitlynn Holland (12-0) and Emily Johnson (11-1) in the Nos. 5 and 6 positions.
“I try to stress that being the number five or six seed is just as important as being number one, as far as contributing to the team aspect,” Wood said.
The only non-senior in Soddy-Daisy’s singles lineup Tuesday was sophomore Bailey Coyner, who has teamed with Crawley nine times at No. 1 doubles this year, and their record is unblemished. The two were chosen to the all-tournament team in the DecoTurf tournament in late March, making Crawley a three-time selection in the event.
The Lady Trojans won the DecoTurf consolation bracket this year. They also finished fifth out of 12 teams in Oakland’s tournament in Murfreesboro but were only four team points away from being in second.
Wood coached some of his current players at Soddy-Daisy Middle and is in his second year as the high school head coach. He gives a lot of credit for the success this year to first-year assistant coach Kayla Kelly, a former two-time state doubles champion at Arts & Sciences.
“Not getting complacent with where we’re at right now is our biggest concern,” said Wood, who has four girls with 4.0 grade point averages. “We’re
trying to keep them focused on what’s at stake right now, not the end prize.”
Postseason in singles and doubles will be held before the teams compete again. Action Monday at the Champions Club starts at 12:30 p.m., and Tuesday it starts at 2:30.
Crawley advanced to the state tournament in singles last year but drew the eventual winner in the opening round.
“I want to make it back to state,” Crawley said. “Since I got the tough draw last time, I won’t this time. I’m hoping to get at least a round at state.”
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.