The past handful of years, Baylor's girls have reigned supreme at the Chattanooga Rotary Tennis tournament, but this time around, the Baylor boys are looking to make a run at the trophy.
The prestigious tournament is in its 59th year and could feature one of the more exciting finishes in its history. Baylor starts today tied atop the boys' A Division leaderboard with Mountain Brook and heavily favored St. Xavier. The three teams each totaled 12 points Friday, with their closest opponent being McCallie with six.
"We've really come together as a team the last few months, and it has ignited a firestorm throughout our lineup and our atmosphere," Red Raiders coach Philip Johnson said. "I'm not surprised we're at the top with those two teams. Our guys played really, really well today.
Baylor and Mountain Brook each will have four out of six finalists in singles and all three doubles duos in the semifinals. St. Xavier will have three singles finalists and three doubles semifinalists.
Baylor's Chad Woodham upset the No. 2 seed in the A-1 bracket on his way to the finals. All three of the other finalists for the Raiders held their seed.
"Getting extra points in the singles finals is going to be big," Johnson said. "We've got a possible six points in doubles, too. It's going to be exciting."
The three leading teams will have a shot to do the dirty work themselves, as some combination of Baylor, St. Xavier and Mountain Brook will face off in seven of the opening nine matches. The Red Raiders will get St. Xavier in three of their four finals matches and Mountain Brook in one finals and two doubles semifinals.
No. 1 seed and defending tournament and Kentucky state champion Brandon Lancaster looks to lead St. Xavier to its third straight title. The last boys' team to win three straight Rotary titles was Baylor in 1997-99.
"Our guys are a little beat up -- we've played a lot of matches," Johnson said. "They just have to take care of themselves, hydrate and be ready to go tomorrow."
The Lady Red Raiders have won four straight Rotary titles, but they need a comeback to secure a record fifth. They are third in the girls' A Division with eight points behind Knoxville Webb (11) and McCracken (10). GPS is closely behind Baylor with seven.
Baylor, which is missing No. 1 player Drew Hawkins because she is out of town, has three singles finalists and one doubles team in the semifinals.
Singles finals matches begin at 8:30 a.m. and will be followed by doubles semifinals at noon. Doubles finals start at 1 p.m. All matches will be at Baylor.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.