The DecoTurf High School Tennis Team Championship boys’ trophy will not stay in Chattanooga, but Baylor and McCallie will fight on in the consolation bracket.
McCallie lost both of its matches Friday, while Baylor’s Red Raiders split their two matches to keep third-place hopes alive.
The Blue Tornado dropped a 7-2 decision to a tough Mary Institute & Country Day School from St. Louis in the morning and later lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Winter Park of Florida.
“It came down to the last match,” McCallie coach Eric Voges said. “All the teams here are good, and we played pretty well but not strong enough to finish it.”
The Blue Tornado won two out of the three doubles matches but only two of the six singles matches. The team is without its standout No. 2 from last year, Tanner Voges, who is out for the season because of a back injury.
“That’s part of it. All athletic teams deal with injuries,” Coach Voges said. “We have a couple of guys who can step up. They just need a little confidence. That’s the beauty of tennis: You develop and get better.”
Baylor lost its opener to Georgia’s Northview, 6-3. The Red Raiders also came out of doubles winning two out of the three but lost five of six singles matches. Three of the six were decided in tiebreaker sets.
“I’m really proud of our boys,” Baylor coach Phillip Johnson said. “They fought hard until the end. We have to work toward getting them experience and getting used to that pressure. Our goal is always to win stat, and this gets us prepared for teams we would see at state.”
The bright spot in singles came with Cooper Long. He was down 7-1 in a tiebreaker but rallied for a 10-8 victory.
“You know, the chances of winning that aren’t very good, but if you don’t give up and hang in there, anything can happen,” Johnson said.
Baylor clinched what became a 6-3 win over Edwardsville from Illinois by winning all six singles matchups. The Red Raiders will start today at 10 a.m. at Baylor in the consolation semifinals against Winter Park.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.