MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Boyd-Buchanan’s Tarah Garner and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee’s Sadie Shackelford successfully defended their state tennis singles championships Friday. Garner won the Class A/AA title again, defeating University School of Jackson’s Madison Patey 6-1, 6-3, and Shackelford edged her sister Avery 6-4, 6-4 for her second consecutive Division II-A title.
Arts & Sciences’ Ahmee and Kayla Kelly also were victorious, claiming the school’s first girls’ tennis state championship by defeating Julie and Brittany Covington of Clarksville Academy, 6-2, 6-4.
Garner, who also defeated Patey in last year’s final, made some adjustment to her footwear before Friday’s match after suffering from blisters Thursday.
“I went and got some new soles and higher socks so I wouldn’t hurt my ankles,” Garner said.
“Winning this year means a lot more because I’m a senior. Last year, I knew that if I could win the region, I would have a chance to win state. This year was a lot harder because I had better matches.”
Shackelford’s road was a little tougher, since the girl staring across the net at her was her older sister.
“They work out against each other in practice and play together a lot, but I think there was more pressure on Sadie since she was the defending champion,” St. Andrew’s-Sewanee coach Kelley Black said.
For the Kellys, the win capped off a long journey.
“It’s interesting because there have been three state championships in the history of Arts & Sciences, and two of them are in tennis,” CSAS coach Jerry Pate said. Stan Goss won the 2003 state singles title. “These girls listen and they’re smart. They carry what they do in practice onto the court. We can’t play for them. They have to execute.
“We have a good program at CSAS, and I’m hoping that a win like this can boost the program.”
The only Chattanoooga-area girl to lose in a final was GPS’s Sarah Evans, who fell 6-3, 6-3 to Hutchison’s Hayly Humphreys in Division II-AA.
In boys’ finals, McCallie’s Chris Schlabach lost 6-1, 7-6 (7-2) to defending state champion Brandon Fickey of Knoxville Webb, and McCallie’s Thomas Fanjoy and Sawyer Voges dropped a tough 6-7 (7-4), 6-4, 6-4 match to Memphis University School’s Will Carter and Cliff Guyton.
“It would have been nice to get a win, but MUS is a good team,” McCallie coach Eric Voges said. “The guys played tough. There were some good shots and some tough points.
“I’m real pleased with the guys. They fought hard.”
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