The Chattanooga Christian girls’ tennis team and the McMinn County boys won team championships at the Champions Club High School Classic tournament Saturday.
The Lady Chargers and the Cherokees earned the A division titles, while the Rhea County girls and Soddy-Daisy boys won the B division championships in the final day of the competition at the Champions Club.
The CCS girls totaled 56 points, eight more than runner-up Walker Valley, while Red Bank was third with 43. The McMinn boys earned 55 points, and University School of Nashville edged Rhea County by one to take second with 47 points.
“We’ve been focusing on team performance a lot this year,” McMinn County coach Susan Ray said. “We always do well with individual tournaments, but this was important to the guys to accomplish as a team.”
In the B division, the Trojans scored 20 points, while Arts & Sciences had 17 in second and Red Bank placed third with 11. The Lady Golden Eagles won the girls’ title with 21 points, followed by Blackman and Soddy-Daisy with 10 each.
CSAS sophomore Kayla Kelly won the girls’ A division No. 1 title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Ooltewah’s Caroline Denton. Kelly and older sister Albany combined to win the No. 1 doubles championship.
-
Staff Photo by Tim Barber -- CSAS’s Kayla Kelly returns a forehand Saturday as she defeats Ooltewah’s Caroline Denton for the No. 1 singles championship at the Champions Club high school tournament.
“It was real tough and not a lot of shots were going through for me at first, and I got frustrated,” Kayla said. “But my dad told me ahead of time to keep fighting and attack, just let go of the frustration. It feels really good to win this, especially as a sophomore. I still have time to grow, and this sets the bar higher.”
Notre Dame’s Jennifer Brouner edged CCS’s Holly Scholl 6-7(4), 6-1, 1-0(10) for the No. 2 singles championship. Walker Valley’s Amanda Smith won the No. 3 title and Red Bank’s Amy Metcalf won at No. 4. Walker Valley’s Hannah Ervin and Lily Robinson won the No. 2 doubles championship.
McMinn County senior Michael Hewgley took home the boys’ A division crown after beating USN’s Sreyas Roddy, 6-2, 6-3.
“My match went better than expected,” Hewgley said. “He beat me last year, but this time my game was on.”
McMinn’s Neal Baldwin and George Pannell won the Nos. 2 and 3 singles championships. Baldwin and Hewgley together secured the top doubles title.
