Lady Jackets fall just short of Final 4
♦ An Elite 8 battle goes to Greater Atlanta Christian in the final match.
The Rockmart High School girls’ tennis team fought for every point it could last Thursday as it tried to extend the season one more time. But the Lady Jackets came up just a few short.
Hosting 2021 Class 3A state runnerup Greater Atlanta Christian in an Elite Eight showdown, Rockmart took two of the first four matches from the Lady Spartans, leaving the No. 3 singles match as the decisive game.
With sophomore Emma Scott having won a first-set tiebreaker, the Lady Jacket dropped the second set to her opponent after taking an early lead and then lost the third set 6-4, giving GAC the team victory and bringing Rockmart’s postseason run to an end.
It was just the second time this season the Lady Jackets had tasted defeat, leaving them with a record of 18-2. The loss also kept Rockmart from reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2019.
The match saw both sides compete hard to advance their team in the Class 3A bracket, with the two squads battling for more than two hours.
Rockmart’s Maryann Earwood got her team off on the right foot by defeating her No. 1 singles opponent in straight sets for a 1-0 Lady Jacket lead.
Eisley Pope, Rockmart’s No. 2 singles player, tried to overcome early struggles before the senior fell to her GAC counterpart in back-to-back sets. The Lady Jackets’ No. 1 doubles team of Megan Clanton and Maddie Owens forced a 7-5 decision in their first set that went to the Lady Spartans before losing the second set as well.
With GAC on the brink of capturing a 3-1 decision, Rockmart’s No. 2 doubles team of Ava Shae Culver and Ansley Lanier made a third-set comeback to win their match and put the afternoon’s result in the hands of Scott at No. 3 singles.
Scott, who was up 5-2 in the first set,
saw her GAC opponent recover and tie the set 5-5. Each won a game to go into a tiebreaker, which went to Scott. The visiting team won the second set and then closed out the final set after a 3-3 tie, taking three of the last four points.
The afternoon marked the final matches for Rockmart seniors Earwood, Pope, and Clanton. They helped the Lady Jackets win two region championships, including this season.