Jackets make it to final round
It was a mixed bag over the weekend for the Rockmart Yellow Jackets. This past Saturday, they were supposed to play for a state title in Class AA boys tennis.
Then the weather interrupted everyone’s plans and forced a delay. The good news out of all of that is the Jackets were set to host on Monday after press time the matches they were expected to play in Rome over the weekend. And they face a familiar foe for 2019.
Last season the Rockmart boys’ tennis team watched the Class AA tennis state championship between Bleckley County and Benedictine, and a determination came over the boys.
After losing to Benedictine in the Final Four, the Jackets felt they could compete in the championship, and began to put in the work needed to make that a reality.
Rockmart head coach Barry Owen in days before the big match-up was excited that his team made it back to play Early County, now after press time Monday afternoon. (Additional coverage of the state finals for Class AA will be available online and in the May 15 edition.)
“Last year, they saw it was possible for us to make it if we worked hard to get to that next level. They’ve worked hard from the end of last year to now and it’s paying off. We’re super excited to be representing Rockmart in the finals,” he said last week ahead of Saturday’s cancellation.
Rockmart got to the title matches after a win against Thomasville on April 29 in the Final Four was the closest match the team has had during the playoffs. The topseeded Jackets came away with a 3-2 win on the road against the No. 1 seed out of Region 1. The Jackets shut out their opponents in the opening two rounds and topped Dodge County 3-1 in the Elite Eight.
“We had a really tough match,” Owen said. “They just never quit fighting and they came out on top.”
After losing No. 1 and No. 2 singles, Bennett Vest kept the team alive with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles. The No. 2 doubles team of Dillon Mahan and Gavin Tan won 6-0, 6-0, and Hunter England and Elijah Malone rallied after dropping their first set to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Rockmart has some experience against Early County defeating the team 3-2 in the Elite Eight last season.
“It’s going to be a close match,” Owen said. “We have our work cut out for us, but we’ve improved since last year from top to bottom. We’re confident and we’ll take that confidence in and play well.”
Rockmart’s girls saw their season come to an end in the Final Four with a 3-1 loss to Berrien, which was only the Lady Jackets’ second loss of the season.
Mary Ella Owen won the Lady Jackets’ lone match at No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-4. Emma Evans was winning at No. 1 singles 2-6, 6-1, 2-1 before Berrien won matches for the victory.
“My girls had a great year,” Rockmart girls’ coach Kent Mathis said. “We lost five starters last season so we had to regroup. The girls fought hard, we just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to win.”