Tuesday was a long and hot yet pleasing day for Walker Sims at the Champions Club tennis complex.
Seeded No. 2, Sims beat top seed Jarryd Woog 6-4, 6-3 for the Boys' 16s singles championship in the Tennessee State Junior Qualifying tournament. The two Memphis residents later teamed to defeat Nashvillians Andrew Graham and Andy Druffel for the doubles title, 8-2, after Graham played three singles matches on his way to consolation honors.
Sims' win over his doubles partner squared their competition series at two matches each.
"He played better than I did today," said Woog, a home-schooled representative of the Racquet Club of Memphis. "He was doing everything really well. He was striking it well and placing it well. I would hit a good shot and he would hit a really good shot."
Woog called his own play "shaky," with one series of unforced errors particularly irritating.
Sims, a Memphis University School player who lost to McCallie's Bobby Brouner in the high school state tournament semifinals, said he played well throughout the qualifying tournament. And he continued to enjoy playing doubles with Woog.
"He's pretty aggressive and I'm more of a counter puncher," Sims said. "We work pretty well together."
Woog's older brother, Stefan, could not follow his 18s singles title Monday with a doubles triumph despite a top seeding. Tuesday, he and Palmer Campbell of Nashville lost 8-3 to the third-seeded duo of Knoxville's Steven Patrick and Brian Carman.
Chattanooga's Harper Caswell and Maggie Crumbliss lost 8-3 to top-seeded Memphians Emerald Able and Oroma Womeodu in the Girls' 16s doubles final.