MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – One step down. One to go.
The Baylor boys’ tennis team inched closer to its first Division II-AA state championship since 1997 with a 4-0 victory over McCallie in the semifinals Tuesday at the Adams Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders (10-4) will face Memphis University School, which defeated Montgomery Bell Academy 4-2 in the other semifinal, in today’s championship match at 12:30 p.m. EDT.
The Baylor girls (14-0), going for their sixth consecutive title, swept Harpeth Hall 4-0 and will play in the final at 10 a.m. EDT against Hutchison, which edged Girls Preparatory School 4-3.
Karolina Hakala, Presley Thomas and Ashton Jenne had singles wins for the Baylor girls, who won the doubles point with victories by Drew Hawkins with Lauren Carelli and Jenne with Thomas.
“We played well,” Lady Red Raiders coach Dustin Kane said. “We were ready, prepared and took care of business.
“Now our sights are set on tomorrow’s match.”
The program is 92-9 since the start of the 2010 season, with four Decoturf national championships along the way.
Both Baylor teams are familiar with their opponents. The boys defeated MUS 5-4 in the second round of the Decoturf Nationals on March 18, and Kane’s girls swept Hutchison 9-0 in the Decoturf semifinals a day later. But to get to this point, the Lady Red Raiders had to handle the Honeybears while the Baylor boys had to defeat a rival for the third time in a season – this time on a much bigger stage.
“I think we knew going into it was going to be a close match,” Baylor’s Patrick Toomey said. “The first two times it was contentious, but at the end of the day it’s just tennis. You have to try to do what you can: Play the game, watch the ball, move your feet and things usually go your way.”
Toomey, Cooper Long and Brandon Kale grabbed singles wins after Baylor had swept the doubles point.
The winner of the boys’ final will have 16 state championships all-time, moving into first place. MUS has nine titles in the 19 seasons since Baylor’s last title.
“The good news is we think we can win,” Baylor coach Philip Johnson said. “No team is dominant this year, so it would be good to get the win.
“The boys worked hard. Let’s hope we can do it tomorrow.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.