Baylor's Sonya Brkovic keeps her eye on the ball during a doubles match in Murfreesboro Tuesday.
Staff Photo by Jake Daniels, Chattanooga Times Free PressMURFREESBORO, Tenn. - After her loss at No. 4 singles Tuesday, Chattanooga Christian's Gracie Smith needed an opportunity to redeem herself.
Her win at doubles proved to be just that.
Smith teamed with Hannah Henry to claim a win at No. 2, giving the Lady Chargers a 4-2 tennis victory over Christian Academy of Knoxville and advancing them to today's Class A/AA state final against Christ Presbyterian Academy at the Old Fort State Park courts.
CCS's win was part of a sweep for area girls' teams, as GPS and Baylor set up a Division II-AA state final with wins over Hutchison and Harpeth Hall, respectively, by identical 4-1 scores.
Smith's loss made it a 3-2 match going into doubles, but the win by her and Henry sealed the team victory.
"I'm just so proud of what the girls have been able to do this year," CCS coach Sue Webb said. "This has been just an unbelievable season for us, and it just continues to get better."
Baylor got victories from Samantha Caswell, Sonja Brkovic and Maggie Crumbliss and two doubles victories in advancing to today's final.
Freshman Harper Caswell, who teamed with Sarah Berchuck for a win at No. 1 doubles, said the team's depth played a factor in the team's win.
"Our depth has been important for us all year," Harper Caswell said. "You usually expect teams to be weaker at the bottom, so the stronger your team is from top to bottom, the better you are."
The Bruisers got singles wins from Michelle Fleenor, Hannah Morrow and Mary Claire Spann and the all-important doubles point to advance to the final.
GPS coach Sue Bartlett was pleased about the opportunity to face Baylor again - with a state title on the line.
"The great thing about sports is that you never know what's going to happen," she said. "We're just going to go out there and put it on the line."