MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — GPS senior Claire Bartlett knows what to expect when she plays tennis against Pope John Paul II’s Gabriela Rangel.
It could go to three sets. There might be a tiebreaker or two. And it’s always tough.
That knowledge led Bartlett, a University of Virginia signe,e to her third consecutive TSSAA Division II-AA state singles championship Friday at Middle Tennessee State University.
McCallie’s Wes Nelson and Chris Schlabach won the boys’ doubles championship.
Bartlett defeated Rangel 6-2, 7-6(3) in the championship match. The last player to win a state title three years in a row was Oak Ridge’s Megan Dunigan in 1996-98.
Bartlett previously beat Rangel for the East/Middle Region championship and in a USTA designated tournament. Rangel, a Mississippi signee, defeated Bartlett in a dual match during the regular season.
“It’s an honor to win it for my team, my school and myself,” Bartlett said. “I think this time I hit the ball deeper and stayed on top of it in the second set, mentally keeping the momentum going. In the other matches we’ve played, I’d win the first set and she’d come out firing to win the second, so this time I fought through.”
Nelson and Schlabach beat Memphis University School’s Watson George and Will Carter 7-6(5), 6-4. Nelson, a senior, previously won a state doubles with Charlie Ramsay in 2006.
The Blue Tornado pair rallied from 5-4 and 6-5 deficits to take the first set.
“This kind of makes me want to play more, but it’s good to end on top,” Nelson said. “We got some momentum going into the tiebreaker because we broke both their serves and had a lot of confidence going in. We started the tiebreak up 4-1, and that helped us relax for the rest of the match.”
Knoxville Webb freshman Brandon Fickey outlasted McCallie’s David Henry for the boys’ singles title, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3. Henry will join Ramsay at Memphis this fall.
Knoxville Webb’s Guinn and Vicki Garcia beat Baylor’s Currant Scruggs and Katie Thornton for the girls’ doubles championship.
Or login with:
New Account