Notre Dame’s Katie Joyce celebrates a point during her match against Christian Academy of Knoxville’s Barbara Smith at Spring Fling in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.Class A/AA girls’ state championshipNOTRE DAME 4CHRISTIAN ACADEMY OF KNOXVILLE 3Singles: Katie Joyce (ND) def. Barbara Smith, 6-0, 6-1; Haleigh Chastain (CAK) def. Sarah Joyce, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; Leighton Porter (CAK) def. Callie Voges, 6-1, 6-1; Danika Dorris (ND) def. Holly Chastain, 6-1, 6-3; Allyson Ross (ND) def. Caroline Murchison, 6-4, 6-2.Doubles: S. Joyce/Dorris (ND) def. Smith/Ha. Chastain, 8-4; Porter/Ho. Chastain (CAK) def. K. Joyce/Voges, 8-2.Records: Notre Dame 14-0; CAK 13-4.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Sarah Joyce had experienced the feeling of letting a match slip away once Wednesday. She wasn’t going to let it happen again.
And because of her resolve — and that of her Notre Dame tennis teammates — there’s a large piece of hardware heading back to Vermont Avenue.
The Lady Irish stormed out to a 3-1 lead in singles, but Joyce was defeated 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 by Christian Academy of Knoxville’s Haleigh Chastain at No. 2. The match went into doubles, and Joyce teamed with Danika Dorris to defeat Barbara Smith and Chastain 8-4 to seal the title.
“We just continued to stress that we can do this,” said Joyce, a freshman. “Danika and I have been really good this year. We’ve been wanting this since February, and really wanted to win this.”