McCallie took home five of six boys’ singles tennis championships at the Chattanooga Rotary tennis tournament Friday at Baylor School and Manker Patten.
The tournament resumes this morning at 8:30 a.m. with boys’ doubles, along with girls’ singles and doubles at Baylor. Championship matches were originally scheduled for today, but rain and the use of indoor courts caused the competition to alter its schedule.
After an hour rain delay, the boys’ teams moved to Manker Patten to play the full singles schedule after water began to seep into Baylor’s indoor courts. Girls’ team coaches voted to suspend play until today.
McCallie leads the boys competition with 17 points, while Mountain Brook is in second with 7. Vestavia Hills, St. Xavier and Bishop England are tied for third place with 4 points. Team scores were not available for the girls teams.
The Blue Tornado’s J.P. McLemore, Wes Nelson, Chris Schlabach, Thomas Fanjoy and Sawyer Voges took home gold medals for the Nos. 2 through 6 events.
McCallie’s David Henry finished second at No. 1, falling to Knoxville Webb’s Brandon Fickey, 6-4, 6-1 in the championship match. It was Henry’s first loss of the season through seven matches.
A senior, Henry has been adjusting well to the tough No. 1 position for McCallie, coach Eric Voges said.
“There’s a lot of pressure there because a lot of teams have good No. 1s, and he’s been adjusting to the pressure slowly,” Voges said. “I’m pleased with his progress.”
Earlier this year, Henry committed to play for the University of Memphis and will sign within the next two weeks. Current Memphis player and McCallie alum Charlie Ramsay encouraged Henry to check out the Tigers when it didn’t work out with his top choice, the University of Alabama.
“Charlie was the reason I looked at at them,” Henry said. “He mentioned it, and I talked with the coach. I’m excited because I looked and they play a tough schedule.”
Added Voges: “David has a lot of big weapons — a big serve and a big forehand that will serve him well in college. He’s one of those players that will get better in college and continue to improve.”
