Hixson Boys and Girls Win at Chattanooga Central.

Well, it wasn't very warm, but at least the Sun was beaming today at the Lakeside Youth Sports Complex.  Today was officially the first day of Spring and our last match before Hixson goes on Spring Break.

Both our teams are heading into the break sitting on a nice 3-0 District record thanks to their performance against Chattanooga Central.

I guess the story of the day has to be our last three seeds on the the girls team.  Heading into the match, I knew that I was going to be short two of my top six girls.  Emily Gilreath (#4) and Maggie Ozborn (#5) are on a school sponsored trip to New York with Hixson's String Orchestra.  What I didn't know, was that my #3, Haylee Gossett was going to wake up this morning with a stomache virus. 

In years past, if I had to go into a match missing three of my top six, there was pretty much no chance we would win.  In fact, in some years, I didn't even have three extra players to substitute and I would have had to forfeit a match or two.  Well not today!  Emily Davis, Lydia Lindsey and Caylee Schannuth (#7, 8 and 9 on the depth chart) all scored points for the Wildcats.  Emily won her singles and  doubles matches, and Lydia and Caylee each won their singles matches.  In fact, every girl in the line up helped account for our 7 points-- to win the match easily.

The Boys also won 7-2, and just like the girls, every boy helped secure one of our team points.  There were some fierce battles that Hixson came out on top, namely #1 Singles and Doubles.  Alex Condra and Carl Phillips showed real composure over a pair of seniors in the doubles to prevail 9-7 after being down for most of the match.  Alex also came out on top in a very close singles match that went back and forth before he closed the deal with the same 9-7 score.

Nice way to head into vacation.  Here are the full results:


Hixson Girls def. Chattanooga Central Girls 7-2

Singles:

Whitney Clack (H) def. Alex Bonner 8-4
Michelle Phillips (H) def. Christie Loden 8-2
Tiffany Murray (C) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-2
Emily Davis (H) def. Erin Jones 8-4
Lydia Lindsey (H) def. Taylor McKenzie 8-0
Caylee Schannuth (H) def. Abigail Bell 8-4

Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Bonner/Murray 9-7 (7.2)
Cor. Schannuth/Davis (H) def. Loden/Jones 8-6
Alex Coulter/Lauren Belcher (C) def. Lindsey/Cay. Schannuth 8-6


Hixson Boys def. Chattanooga Central Boys 7-2

Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. John Mitchell 9-7
Carl Phillips (H) def. Jeffrey Chastain 8-1
Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Walt Braley 8-5
Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Blake Ragsdale 8-0
Richard Vuong (H) def. Kevin Chiang 8-4
Kylen Harrison (C) def. Rivers De'Friese 8-1

Doubles:

Condra/Phillips (H) def. Mitchell/Chastain 9-7
Braley/Chiang (C) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-5
Lindsey/De'Friese (H) def. Ragsdale/Harrison (8-2)

Records:

Hixson Girls: 3-2 (Overall); 3-0 (District 6A/AA)
Hixson Boys: 4-1(Overall); 3-0 (District 6A/AA)

UP NEXT: Spring Break!  Then on Monday, April 1 we will play our make up match with East Ridge at the Racquet Club.

Signal Mountain Tames Wildcats.

What a great visit to Signal Mountain today.  This is the kind of early season match that will pay dividends down the road.  The final scores may look lopsided, but I can say I am proud of the way our kids competed up and down the boys' and girls' lineups.  I asked my kids to fight for every point, and that's exactly what they did.

The girls only managed one win on the day, but it was an important one at #1 Doubles.  Whitney Clack and Michelle Phillips remained perfect on the season with a win over a doubles team that ended up as the Runner Up in Region 4 last year.

For the boys, Carl Phillips (#2) and Richard Vuong (#5) managed to score wins in singles.  Both played near flawless matches.  All of the boys played well in doubles, but this Signal Mountain team is well coached and they have a good bit more experience than our team.

As I said, I am quite pleased with the way we played.  Heading into tomorrow's district match against Central, we will need to keep this level of play going.

Here are the results:

Signal Mountain Girls def. Hixson Girls 8-1

Girls Singles:

Kylila Tucker (SM) def. Whitney Clack 8-4
Shelby O'Quinn (SM) def. Michelle Phillips 8-5
Natalie Palmer (SM) def. Haylee Gossett 8-0
Anna Cameron (SM) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-2
Allwyn Fisher (SM) def. Emily Davis 8-3
Colleen Conner (SM) def. Lydia Lindsey 8-6

Girls Doubls:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Tucker/Palmer 8-5
O'Quinn/Fisher (SM) def. Gossett/Schannuth 8-2
Cameron/Tess McCain (SM) def. Davis/Lindsey 8-2

Boys Singles:

Forrest Hooten (SM) def. Alex Condra 8-4
Carl Phillips (H) def. Adam Wolfe 9-7
Harrison Smith (SM) def. Jacob Lindsey 8-1
Jason Morris (SM) def. Kevin Nguyen 8-3
Richard Vuong (H) def. Zach Brown 8-5
Luke Blentlinger (SM) def. Rivers De'Friese 8-2

Boys Doubles:

Hooten/Wolfe (SM) def. Condra/Phillips 8-5
Smith/Brown (SM) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-4
Blentlinger/Micajah Tucker (SM) def. Lindsey/De'Friese 8-4

UP NEXT:  Thursday, March 21 @ Chattanooga Central.  I cannot emphasize enough how important this match is for both the Girls and the Boys.  Both our teams would have a huge leg up in our regular season District race if they can take care of business at Lakeside Courts.  Central has some veteran players, hungry to beat Hixson.  We will need to play our best.

Hixson Boys & Girls Win at East Hamilton!

What a difference 48 hours makes.  We were all freezing our tails off two days ago in Dayton, and today could not have been better.  I believe the temperature was a perfect 72 degrees at match time, with just a slight spring breeze-- which was not a factor during any of the matches.  The weather was not all that was good on this day.  As soon as I met up with Coach Jackson from East hamilton, he informed me that he was missing both of his #2 seeds.  I pretty much knew then our life was going to be much easier.

On the boys' side of things, I'm not sure it would have made much of a difference.  Everybody in the Hixson lineup had a good day.  Even our one loss on the afternoon, was very close:  Jacob Lindsey lost 7-9 in the #3 spot.  Once again, Alex Condra took out a senior at #1-- the score was not even close, 8-2.  Carl Phillips played a great match in the #2 slot, and together they were almost unstoppable in doubles.  Kevin Nguyen, Richard Vuong, Rivers DeFries were also perfect on the day, winning in doubles and singles.

Completely different story on the girls' side.  Let's face it:  we caught a break facing this team without their true #2.  The top half of the lineup lost in singles, but thankfully, our #4, 5 and 6 were able to win.  Perhaps the biggest win of the day for the girls was at #4, Where Emily Gilreath played a great match against a solid player and held on for a win, 8-6.  That proved to be the difference, because we won 2 out of 3 doubles.  Emily Gilreath and her partner Maggie Ozborn were the only Lady Wildcats to stay perfect on the day.

Here are the results:

Hixson Girls def. East Hamilton Girls 5-4

Girls Singles:

Hannah Dattilo (EH) def. Whitney Clack 8-1
Noa Geyne (EH) def. Michelle Phillips 8-5
Shanna Love (EH) def. Haylee Gossett 8-6
Emily Gilreath (H) def. Jessica Peters 8-6
Maggie Ozborn (H) def. Meghan Gallups 8-1
Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Elizabeth Manning 8-3

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (EH) def. Dattilo/Gallups 8-1
Love/Geyne (EH) def. Gossett/Schannuth 9-7
Ozborn/Gilreath (H) def. Peters/Manning 8-0

Hixson Girls Record: 2-1 (Overall); 2-0 (District 6A/AA)

Hixson Boys def. East Hamilton Boys 8-1

Boys Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Daniel Jung 8-2
Carl Phillips (H) def. Dhru Patel 8-1
Erwin Kupris (EH) def. Jacob Lindsey 9-7
Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Michael Hanna 8-3
Richard Vuong (H) def. Dylan Brown 8-0
Rivers DeFries (H) def. Jose Hamoni 8-2

Boys Doubles:

Condra/Phillips (H) def. Patel/Kupris 8-3
Nguyen/Vuong (H) def. Hanna/Brown 8-5
Lindsey/DeFries (H) def. Hamoni/Tucker Kelly 8-1

Hixson Boyss Record: 3-0 (Overall); 2-0 (District 6A/AA)


UP NEXT: Monday, March 18 at Home against East Ridge.  I don't expect much from East Ridge, this is only the second year they have had a team.  I'll be looking to get some much needed experience for the bottom of our tennis ladders.

Hixson Splits with the Golden Eagles.

Well, it wasn't that  cold, but it was certainly not a pleasant day either.  I complained about it being cold and windy for a scrimmage against Rhea County last week.  I'm pretty sure it was colder and windier today.  Some of our kids adapted and others did not.  In then end we managed a split.

The Girls lost a heart breaker, 5-4.  We only won two matches in Singles: Whitney Clack and Corynne Schannuth, which means we still had a chance heading into the doubles, but we needed to sweep all three courts.  Whitney and Michelle Phillips prevailed 9-8 (7-2) at #1, and Maggie Ozborn and Lydia Lindsey easily won at #3, 8-3.  Our #2 doubles team, however, did not have a good day.  I really thought this was the year my girls would finally catch up to Rhea County, but it was not to be.

On the Boys' side of things, this match was much closer than final score indicates.  Alex Condra had just about all he could handle on Court #1, winning in a close 8-6 match.  Rivers DeFries let his opponent win four games in a row, before he reeled off the final two games to win a nail biter, 9-7.   If Rhea County wins those two matches who knows what would have happened in the doubles.  As it turned out, our boys took care of business and swept all three courts of doubles.

Here are the full results:

Rhea County Girls def. Hixson Girls 5-4

Girls Singles:

Whitney Clack (H) def. Lexi Bowman 8-6
Shayla Bradley (RC) def. Michelle Phillips 8-4
Mallory McWerter (RC) def. Haylee Gossett 8-0
Lindsey Smith (RC) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-3
Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Megan Millard 8-2
Katelyn Travis (RC) def. Lydia Lindsey 8-4

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Bowman/McWerter 9-8 (7-2)
Bradley/Smith (RC) def. Gossett/Schannuth 8-1
Ozborn/Lindsey (H) def. Millard/Travis 8-3

Records:

Hixson: 1-1 (Overall), 1-0 (District 6A/AA)
Rhea County: 1-1 (Overall), 0-1 (District 5AAA)

Hixson Boys def. Rhea County Boys 7-2

Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Kyle Runyan 8-6
Hunter Byrd (RC) def. Carl Phillips 8-3
Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Andrew Travis 8-3
Chase Sholl (RC) def. Kevin Nguyen 8-5
Richard Vuong (H) def. Gavin Jones 8-1
Rivers DeFries (H) def. Tanner Holsomback 9-7

Doubles:

Condra/Phillips (H) def. Runyan/Travis 8-2
Nguyen/Vuong (H) def. Byrd/Holsomback 8-5
Lindsey/DeFries (H) def. Sholl/Jones 8-1

Records:

Hixson: 2-0 (Overall), 1-0 (Distrct 6A/AA)
Rhea County: 1-1 (Overall), 1-0 (District 5AAA)

UP NEXT: Friday, March 15 @ East Hamilton.  You can always count on East Hamilton to field strong teams on the boys and girls side.  Last year, EH's girls won our district.  While they graduated 3 of 6 on that team, look for the Hurricanes to quickly reload and give us all we can handle.  Not sure what to expect on the boys' side.  I know that they have some experience on the team.  I suspect our boys will need to play their best to grab a win.




 

Hixson Sweeps Red Bank!

Normally when I use the term "sweep", I mean that both the Girls and Boys teams won against the same school.  Actually, I think the term is supposed to refer to a team beating another team without losing a match.  Well today, I can use the term in both senses.  The Lady Wildcats did not lose a match against district rival Red Bank today, for a 9-0 sweep.  The boys most likely would have swept too, but I elected to have  my #1 and #2 seeds (Alex Condra & Carl Phillips) not play doubles.    Even with my two best players out of the lineup in doubles, the Wildcats won easily 8-1.

For the girls it was relatively smooth sailing throughout the six singles matches.  I think my #4 and #5  (Emily Gilreath and Maggie Ozborn) seeds each got off to slow starts in their matches, but they both eventually settled down to win comfortably, 8-5.  The only other close match on the girls' side was at #1 doubles.  Although Whitney Clack and Michelle Phillips were the District 6A/AA Girls Doubles Champions last year, they certainly did not play like it today.  Their match was much closer than it should have been, with Hixson prevailing 9-7.

Perhaps the story of the day on the boys side, was just how well all five freshmen played.  Alex Condra and Carl Phillips both played flawless matches to win their debuts at #1 and #2 respectively.  They were both playing seniors, by the way.  Richard Vuong also won his first High School match at the #5 slot.  Having already accumulated enough team points to win the match after singles, I was able to get two more Freshmen some much needed varsity experience.  Ethan Gossett and Landon Goforth made it look easy in the #3 doubles slot, winning 8-1.

All in all a hecuva way to start the season!  Here are the the full results:

Hixson Girls def. Red Bank Girls 9-0

Singles:

Whitney Clack def. Katie Lawson 8-2

Michelle Phillips def. Amee Desai 8-1

Haylee Gossett def. Lynn Tran 8-3

Emily Gilreath def. Julia Reed 8-5

Maggie Ozborn def. Madyson Williams 8-5

Corynne Schannuth def. Taylor Lewis 8-2

Doubles:

Clack/Phillips def. Lawson/Desai 9-7

Gossett/Schannuth def. Tran/Reed 8-0

Gilreath/Ozborn def. Williams/Lewis 8-2

Records:

Hixson: 1-0 (Overall); 1-0 (District 6A/AA)

Red Bank: 0-1 (Overall); 0-1 (District 6A/AA)

Hixson Boys def. Red Bank Boys, 8-1

Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Nic Gagliano 8-5

Carl Phillips (H) def. Jonathan Campbell 8-3

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Mathew Smith 8-4

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Josh Reed 8-1

Richard Vuong (H) def. Tucker Williams 8-2

Rivers DeFries (H) def. Matthew Bryan 8-0

Doubles:

Gagliano/Campbell (RB) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-6

Lindsey/DeFries (H) def. Smith/Reed 9-8 (7-4)

Ethan Gossett/Landon Goforth (H) def. Williams/Bryan 8-1

Records:

Hixson: 1-0 (Overall); 1-0 (District 6A/AA)

Red Bank: 0-1 (Overall); 0-1 (District 6A/AA)

UP NEXT: Wednesday, March 13 @ Rhea County.  This is a makeup match from Monday.  The same team we played last week in the scrimmage.  My boys should do just as well as they did in the scrimmage, and my girls at full strength should give the Golden Eagles a little more of a fight-- maybe we can even sneak out of Dayton with another Sweep!

Cold & Windy Scrimmage.

It was cold and windy day at the Racquet Club today. I did not hear one complaint about the weather from my players. I think they were glad to finally be playing another school.

Hixson was short-handed due to a class trip and illness. The girls were especially depleted with our #2, #4 and #7 seeds out, and Haylee Gossett (normally our #3 seed) had to forfeit her singles match due to a conflict in her schedule. I must say, I thought the girls did pretty well, and I can't wait to meet this team again at full strength next week. I was especially proud of Lydia and Caylee who scored all three of our Team points, by winning their singles matches and teaming up for a win in doubles.

The boys were missing their #4 Seed, Kevin Nguyen, but still cruised to a an easy 8-1 victory. Good tennis all around on their end. Here are the results:

Rhea County Girls def. Hixson Girls 6-3 Girls

Singles: Lexi Bowman (RC) def. Whitney Clack 8-2
Shayla Bradley (RC) def. Haylee Gossett 8-0 (Forfeit)
Mallory McWherter (RC) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-6
Lindsay Smith (RC) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-1
Lydia Lindsey (H) def. Megan Millard 8-1
Caylee Schannuth (H) def. Katelyn Trans 7-6 (7-3)

Girls Doubles:
Bowman/McWherter (RC) def. Clack/Gossett 8-5
Bradley/Smith (RC) def. Ozborn/Co.Schannuth 8-5
Lindsey/Ca.Schannuth def. Madeline Klee/Constance Reed 8-2

Hixson Boys def. Rhea County Boys 8-1
Boys Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Hunter Byrd 8-1
Carl Phillips (H) def. Kyle Runyan 8-4
Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Andrew Travis 8-0
Richard Vuong (H) def. Chase Sholl 8-2
Rivers DeFries (H) def. Gavin Jones 8-6
Tanner Holsomback (RC) def. Ethan Gossett 6-3

Boys Doubles:

Condra/Vuong (H) def. Byrd/Runyan 8-6
Phillips/Lindsey (H) def. Travis/Holsomback 8-1
DeFries/Landon Goforth (H) def. Sholl/Jones 8-6