Baylor nips Bruisers for Rotary title

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Hanna Morrow, from GPS, returns the ball to Baylor's Maggie Crumbliss at the Rotary Tennis Tournament in this file photo.

Maggie Crumbliss lost a battle with the second defeat of her four-year Baylor School varsity career in the finals of the Rotary Invitational tennis tournament Saturday. Ultimately, though, she won the war.

Crumbliss teamed with Samantha Caswell for the championship-clinching victory, giving the Lady Red Raiders a 19-17 points edge over GPS for their third consecutive tournament triumph. The duo defeated the Bruisers' Hannah Morrow and Jennie McBrayer in the finals, after Morrow had defeated Crumbliss in a singles final.

St. Xavier continued its dominance in the boys' A Division, claiming four singles titles and one doubles championship to win the tournament with 21 points. Montgomery Bell Academy was second with 16, while McCallie crept into the third slot with 13.5 points.

The Blue Tornado's Turner Voges won No. 5 singles and teamed with Nick Wilson to win No. 3 doubles. Teammates Aaron Speicher and Cody Gubin won No. 2 doubles.

"I was very pleased with third place," McCallie coach Eric Voges said. "We had guys that didn't give up in their matches and played until the end.

"From a coaching perspective, it was a very successful weekend."

Baylor was fourth with 10.5 points.

Crumbliss, who didn't have a high school loss until the Decoturf National Championships final last month, said that loss helped take some pressure off her. Saturday's loss against Morrow provided "more motivation."

"I'm glad we were able to win for the third year in a row," she said. "It was one of our goals to win here.

"We know what we have to do on Wednesday."

The two rivals face off then at Baylor.

Caswell won the No. 1 singles final, defeating GPS's Emma McCallie. The Baylor leader won the first set 6-0 and was ahead in the second when McCallie went down with a leg injury.

Morrow, Michelle Fleenor and Jennie McBrayer earned singles titles for GPS, which played Saturday without Mary Claire Spann. She suffered a heat stroke in Friday's action.

• Chattanooga Christian's girls battled to a third-place finish in the B division at GPS. Hannah Henry, Gracie Smith and Emmie Cornell were singles runners-up, and Ellie Henry, Allie Sullivan and Caroline Redburg had consolation victories.

The Henry sisters won the No. 1 doubles consolation, while Signal Mountain's Allwyn Fisher with Shelby O'Quinn and Sydney Adcock with Anna Cameron also won doubles consolations.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6311. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.