MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Catherine Trombley persevered Wednesday.
That's a major reason why the Signal Mountain girls are tennis state champions today.
Trombley survived a marathon match, defeating L&N Stem's Sonya Edwards 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to help the Lady Eagles win 4-2 in the Division I Small Class final at the Adams Tennis Complex. It's the first state title in girls' tennis for Signal Mountain.
Baylor celebrated a girls' state title for the eighth consecutive year after rallying to beat GPS 4-3 in the Division II-AA final, while Chattanooga Christian was unable to keep Knoxville Webb from its ninth title in a row, falling 4-0 in the Division II-A final.
As for Signal, Trombley's win gave the Lady Eagles a 3-2 lead going into doubles, and Sarah Kate Bailey and Grace Williams finished off the match with an 8-2 win.
"I think the girls could have won both doubles if they needed to, but it definitely took a lot of pressure off of them," Trombley said. "I got warmed up in the third set, and I think I knew I could win if I outfought her and outlasted the heat.
"This is crazy. We've never won district before and we're state champions. I haven't processed it completely - I think it'll hit later - but it's real exciting for the whole team."
In Division II-AA, GPS pushed the Lady Red Raiders in a way they haven't been pushed in Murfreesboro in some time, taking two of three doubles matches for the team point and a 1-0 lead. That meant Baylor needed to win four of six singles matches, and the Lady Red Raiders complied. Anna Hawkins, Landie McBrayer and Lilly Mooney won in straight sets prior to Lauren Carelli's clinching triumph, 6-1, 6-7 (10-8), 6-0 over Ellie Edwards.
Lipscomb signee Maddox Bandy and Barbie Edwards earned the singles wins for the Bruisers. Bandy teamed with Corinne Spann and Maggie Eslinger with Kate Thel for doubles victories that gave GPS the early lead.
"We've been working so hard all year," said Carelli, who will walk on at Belmont. "To finish out that strong, even though it was close, was great. Everyone played amazing. Today was more rewarding because we had to work hard for this one."
In Division II-A, Webb's dominance continued thanks to singles wins from Carina Dagotto, Audrey Yoon, Lauren Yoon and Anna Wisniewski, who dropped only three games combined.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.