MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The late nights are over for Red Bank's Daniel Cox.
But he got a chance to showcase how much he's learned over the years.
Cox's quest for a Class A/AA tennis state championship fell short Thursday, as he lost in straight sets to Page's David Skrabut in a semifinal at the Adams Tennis Center. The loss did come after a win, though, as Cox blanked Sullivan South's Nate Barrett 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
He fell in the region final last season, a year after falling in the region semifinals. As a result, Cox - who was also Red Bank's valedictorian and delivered the commencement speech last week - spent time working with Tommy Lile of Tennis Court Concepts and Racquet Club pro Ryan Reeves. When he wasn't hitting the books, he was hitting ground strokes, and it has shown in his game.
"Today was awesome," Cox said after his quarterfinal victory. "I was a little nervous at first, but I worked it out a little towards the end. It probably took me the first three games to settle in, but I wanted to play my best and play smart."
Red Bank coach Glen Wagner called Cox "the best player he's ever coached" and raved about his work ethic.
"In a public-school setting, you don't have a whole lot of time, and I don't have the expertise, but he's gone on and got lessons from some really good players and coaches in the area," Wagner said. "He works diligently and goes out after practice and hits even more.
"It's no surprise he's come along as far as he has."
For the second consecutive season, the Chattanooga area was shut out of Division I championship matches. Signal Mountain's Grant Williams and Thomas Thelen fell 6-1, 6-2 to Christian Academy of Knoxville's Ethan Fussell and Reed Bristow in the A/AA doubles lsemifinals, while Notre Dame's Bowie Strozak and Sarah Faith Ingell lost 6-4, 6-1 to Greeneville's Ellie Pectol and Sydni Lollar in the girls' semifinals.
Collegedale's Malone McElroy (girls' singles) and Colton Lang and Holden McElroy (boys' doubles); Boyd-Buchanan's Taylor Monroe and Christina Amos (girls' doubles); and Signal Mountain's Roger Trombley (boys' singles) lost in quarterfinal matches in A/AA. East Hamilton's Sydney Dattilo (girls' singles) and Soddy-Daisy's Shelby Noe and Bailey Coyner (girls' doubles) lost in the first round in the Class AAA draw.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.