Baylor School continues to build on its unrivaled tradition on the golf course.
The Division II-AA powerhouse swept the TSSAA state championship team titles at the WillowBrook Golf Course on Tuesday as both programs claimed their 19th state titles. Only Davidson Academy's girls golf team also has double figures in team titles with 11.
Junior star Sheldon McKnight also took home a thrilling individual state title for the Red Raiders.
"This is the first time since 2012 that we have swept the team awards, so it's great for our boys and girls to both be back on top at the same time," Baylor coach Gary Partrick said. "Today was a great day. Our girls came out and separated early on the front nine and I couldn't be more happy for Sheldon and our boys, too."
The Lady Red Raiders - who had sixteen straight state titles from 1995-2010 - won their first team title since 2013 by shooting a team score of 302 to beat Lipscomb by 17 strokes. Senior Ellie Rastvortseva birdied No. 18 after striking a perfect iron shot just a few feet away from the pin.
Rastvortseva shot an even, 72 on Tuesday and finished in third place at 4-over-par over the two day championship. Teammate Stephanie Xian finished fifth (+12) and shot a 75 on the final day while Kyndall Shamblin was seventh (+15).
The Red Raiders won the team title shooting a foursome score of 600, while McCallie and MBA tied for second at 609. Sophomore Carter Sayman medaled for the Blue Tornado shooting 3-over-par with teammates Bennett McNabb and Jack Martin placing fifth and 15th at 5 and 10-over, respectively.
McKnight became the first Red Raider to win an individual title since Blake Maum in 2012. Brett Cooper and David Schneider Jerez tied for 10th at 7-over-par for Baylor.
Entering the course's toughest six-hole stretch - Nos. 12-17 which is nicknamed Barrens Triangle - McKnight was lights out with his chips and made critical putts, including to salvage a par on No. 14.
He began the stretch with a birdie on No. 12 with a great chip from underneath a tree that landed less than two-feet from the pin. McKnight sunk a 10-foot birdie on 16 to go 3-under for the tournament.
After his lone bogey of the day, McKnight parred No. 18 to force a one-hole playoff against Father Ryan's Riley Grindstaff who also shot 2-under for the championship.
McKnight once again made a nice chip from the front right of the first hole green and won state with a 5-foot birdie putt. He finished with nine birdies in two days and shot 70 (-2) on the final day.
"He wanted to be mentioned with some of the great players and individual champions that we have had," Partrick said. "He really played well for two days and peaked at the right time. The wind was swirling today and it was soggy yesterday. It wasn't a great tournament for scoring opportunities, but he really played well."
McKnight became the 12th player in Baylor golf history to win an individual title. Luke List is the only boy with two individual titles in his prep career while Brooke Pancake won four titles.
"I am super blessed to have a great team and super awesome coaches," McKnight said. "We did it and I couldn't be more proud! We made our school proud."
VOLLEYBALL
* Heritage beat Sonoraville, 25-19, 24-26, 15-10, and Calhoun, 25-23 and 25-19, to improve to 30-6 overall on the season. Lauren Francis had 16 kills, 16 assists, four aces and three blocks in five sets for the Lady Generals. Kallie Carter had seven kills and two blocks while Aubrey Blankenship had 10 digs and two aces to help beat Sonoraville. Anna Wilks stood out against Calhoun with 16 digs.
* CCS volleyball standout AJ Johnson followed up a 12 kill, 17 dig, five ace and three block performance against GPS with another solid showing in the first round of the Division II-AA state tournament. Johnson had seven kills, 10 digs and four aces to help beat Lipscomb Academy on the road 26-24, 25-23 and 25-10. Kennedy Barber led CCS with eight kills while Avery Ray had seven. Emily Day added 24 assists and 10 digs, while Lauren Kay and Lauren Day combined for 29 digs in the playoff victory. The Lady Chargers will play in the Elite 8 on Saturday.
* Notre Dame advanced to the Elite 8 in the Division II-A state tournament with a 3-1 win over Middle Tennessee Christian, winning 25-16, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-17. Senior McKenna Brown had 23 kills, 23 digs and five aces while Regan Wolf and Beth Voges combined for 13 kills and six blocks. Lindsay Burns (14 digs, five kills, two aces), Mary Fillauer (34 assists, 12 digs, two aces), Riley McCormick (19 digs, two aces) and Maggie Fillauer (20 digs, 3 kills) also helped key the victory for the Lady Irish (29-4).
* East Hamilton swept Hixson in three sets for the Region 3-AA championship by the scores of 25-11, 25-21 and 25-14.
SOCCER
* Hixson 3, Red Bank 0: Paola Perez had two assists and a goal in the overtime win. Abbey Lin and Braylee Gardner each scored. Hixson will host East Ridge in the District 8-AA championship game Thursday at 7.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.