Tough Loss.

Okay, let me just say this is not a sour grapes post. Hats off to the East Hamilton boys for pulling off another nail-biter. Once again our boys came up one win shy of a victory. Interestingly, we did not sweep doubles this time. Jae Yoo (pictured above) had a stunning victory at #6 singles today, 8-6. Stunning because the last time we played the Hurricanes, Jae lost to the same opponent 8-0. I don't give very many hugs, but I gave Jae a big one after that win. It was a gritty and gutsy performance. He had lost at #3 doubles, against East Hamilton's #4 & #2 seeds playing together at #3 doubles, and I told him I needed him to win at singles for us to have a chance. He delivered. My #2 doubles team, George and Cory, trounced two East Hamilton players that aren't in their top six (draw your own conclusion there). Things were a little more interesting at #1 doubles, but our boys (Dylan and Myles) prevailed in a tiebreak. Still with three singles matches on the court, all we needed was one win. The Hurricanes slammed that door shut.

On the girls side of the house, we improved a bit from our showing last time. Whitney again managed to get a win at #2 singles. We got a surprise win at #3 doubles. Abby O'Rear (filling in for Kayla Morgan) and Michelle Phillips beat the same two girls that beat my #2 girls team last time we played at Standifer Gap. Again, I think all my girls battled today against a very talented team.

Here are the results:

East Hamilton Girls def. Hixson Girls 7-2

Girls Singles:

Taylor Johnson (EH) def. Candace Cline 8-3
Whitney Clack (H) def. Hilleary Chandler 8-6
Abigail Ware (EH) def. Michelle Phillips 8-4
Katie Loftin (EH) def. Haylee Gossett 8-4
Kayla Dyar (EH) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-2
Jessica Peters (EH) def. Kayla Morgan 8-2

Girls Doubles:

Johnson/Chandler (EH) def. Cline/Clack 8-2
Ware/Loftin (EH) def. Gossett/Schannuth 8-1
Phillips/O'Rear (H) def. Carly Jones/Jordan Kaset 8-4

East Hamilton Boys def. Hixson Boys 5-4

Boys Singles:

Daniel Jung (EH) def. Dylan Millwood 8-2
Bailey Lenoir (EH) def. George Ozborn 8-5
Ryan Williamson (EH) def. Cory Phillips 8-5
Clark Templeton (EH) def. Myles Goforth 8-4
Eric Barr (H) def. Randsom Mark 8-6
Jae Yoo (H) def. Tej Dhond 8-6

Boys Doubles:

Millwood/Goforth (H) def. Jung/Williamson 9-8 (7-4)
Ozborn/Phillips (H) def. David Templeton/River Mark 8-1
Lenoir/C. Templeton (EH) def. Barr/Yoo 8-1

Records:

Hixson Girls: 3-7 (Overall); 2-4 (District)
Hixson Boys: 5-4 (Overall); 3-3 (District)

Up Next: Thursday, April 14 @ Rhea County. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but the Rhea County girls are going to be tough. This is a bit of a down year for Golden Eagles on the boy's side. If we play the way I know we can, they should come home with a win.