Hixson Girls Clinch District 6-A/AA Team Championship!

Well we did it.  I told the girls at the beginning of the season LAST year, that this would be the year all their hard work would culminate in a championship.  I'll be honest, there were times this year that I did not think we were going to pull it off.  We had two nail-biter matches earlier this season against East Hamilton and Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences.  We managed to win both of those by the same 5-4 score.  Today we were meeting the Patriots for the second time.

Because CSAS had beaten East Hamilton, I knew heading into today's match that if our girls won, we would clinch the District Championship.  The question was, did the girls need to know?  Tricky.  Do these teenage girls need any more pressure on them to do well?  Or, would that knowledge provide a spark? 

I told them.

They responded with the best play I've seen all year.  Coach Scott and I had already agreed that we would forgo doubles today if either team won five matches in the singles.  Since we battled to a 5-4 win the last time we played and split singles right down the middle, I fully expected to play doubles today.  That is not what happened.

Whitney Clack, who lost the last time we played CSAS, was off the court first with a big 8-1 win in the #1 slot.  When she finished, Hixson was up on two courts (#2 and #3), but down on the remaining three courts (#4, #5 and #6).  Michelle was the next off the court, disposing of her opponent rather easily.  Then things got interesting.

Emily Gilreath (#3) who got off to a great start and was up 5-2, had to weather a surge from her opponent.  Haylee Gossett (#4) was down 2-5.  Corynne Schannuth was on serve, but every time they changed over, she was down by 1.  Maggie Ozborn (#5)  was the next one off the court, and it was the first match that hadn't gone our way.  Hixson 2, CSAS 1--things were not looking good.

On Emily's court, they changed sides and CSAS had pulled to within one game: 5-4, Hixson still leading.  Haylee's court changed over, and it was now CSAS 6-3.  Corynne, however, had broken serve and was up 5-4.  I started to breathe a little easier.  I figured if we could get two of those remaining three singles, we would take care of business in the doubles.

Again, something remarkable happened.

Emily won two straight games and was up 7-4.  Corynne held onto her one break lead.  Haylee won two games, and suddenly I started to feel like we might not need doubles afterall.  That is exactly what happened.  All three of those seeds, ended up winning, and the Hixson girls clinched their first District Championship since 2001.  

Here are the full results:

Hixson Girls def. CSAS Girls 5-1

Girls Singles:

Whitney Clack (H) def.Kirsten Johnson 8-1

Michelle Phillips (H) def.Yasmine Foster 8-2

Emily Gilreath (H) def. Sneha Mahesh 8-5

Haylee Gossett (H) def. Cadence Camp 9-7

Katie Foster (C) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-3

Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Alicia Lee 8-6

Doubles not needed.

Hixson Girls' Record:

10-4 (Overall); 9-0 (District 6-A/AA)

Hixson Cruises Past Silverdale

For pretty much the whole day, the skies in Hixson looked pretty much like the above picture.  Well, except for this morning when it was actually raining.  Oddly, we got our last drops of precipitation around 10 or 11 AM, and even though the sun did not come out till this evening, we were able to get our match against Silverdale finished.  It was a bit breezy and brisk, but not the worst weather to play tennis.

Probably due to the odd Friday night date, both our schools had problems fielding teams.  Silverdale only had five boys, and we ended up forfeiting the #3 doubles court for the girls.  I had two girls who could not make the match and three others that had to leave early.  Big THANKS to Whitney Clack, who stayed a half hour longer than she should have to complete both her singles and doubles match.  As a bonus, she won both, which helped us cruise to a 7-2 team victory.

The boys did great.  Our only loss was at #1 singles, where Alex Condra played a tough match, losing 7-9.  The Team win was especially sweet as we were without our #2, Carl Phillips, as he is nursing an ankle injury.  We need him healthy next week!

Full results below:

Hixson Girls def. Silverdale Girls 7-2

Girls Singles:

Whitney Clack (H) def. Hannah Mench 8-6

Kinsey Anderson (S) def. Michelle Phillips 8-6

Emily Gilreath (H) def. Lauren Sexton 8-3

Maggie Ozborn (H) def. Katrina Mauldin 8-2

Emily Davis (H) def. Lauren Buber 8-3

Caylee Schannuth (H) def. Katie Shadden 8-0

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Mench/Anderson 8-2

Gossett/Davis (H) def. Sexton/Maudlin 8-2

Buber/Shadden (S) win by forfeit

Hixson Boys def. Silverdale Boys 8-1

Boys Singles:

Ben Strawn (S) def. Alex Condra 9-7

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Mitch Mizzell 8-4

Richard Vuong (H) def. Austin Harkleroad 8-5

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Riley Mattila 8-1

Rivers De'Friese (H) def. Hunter Hoskins 8-5

Landon Goforth (H) wins by forfeit

Boys Doubles:

Condra/Vuong (H) def. Strawn/Mizzell 8-6

Nguyen/Lindsey (H) def. Harkleroad/Mattila 8-1

Goforth/Ethan Gossett (H) win by forfeit

Records:

Hixson Girls: 9-4 (Overall); 8-0 (6-A/AA)

Hixson Boys: 11-2 (Overall); 8-0 (6-A/AA)

UP NEXT: Monday, April 22, CSAS at Home.  We know this is going to be tough for the girls and boys and a district championship on the line for both our boys and girls.  Should be fun!

Wildcats Dash Past Purple Pounders!

Here we are: 8-0, and just two district matches left in our season.  I've never talked about district championships here on the blog, because, quite frankly, we've never been close.  Not sure if my players understand the magnitude of this, but it is keeping me awake at night.  The Hixson Girls have not won a District Championship since 2001 and the Boys have not won since 1996.  They haven't simultaneously won District Championships since 1990.  So pardon me if you happen to catch me pacing during our next two District matches.  This is a very BIG deal.

Although the final score looks like the Girls had things under control, I was not so sure until the bitter end.  The Girls won two out of three doubles matches to get us off to a good start-- but even there, we needed a come from behind win by our #1 team, Whitney and Michelle.  We put #1, 2 and 3 singles on next, and the pendulum started to swing in Central's favor, as they got wins at #1 and 3.  With #4, 5 and 6 on the court, both teams needed two wins to secure the overall team win.  Corynne, Emily Davis and Lydia Lindsey came through and swept those final three courts.  So yes, I can breathe again.

The Boys were pretty much in control from start to finish.  We swept Central in Doubles, so I was not worried about getting two wins out of six singles matches.  Jacob Lindsey won his singles easily at 8-1, so with four courts completed, I had four wins.  

Here are the full results:

Hixson Girls def. Chattanooga Central Girls 6-3

Girls Singles:

Alex Bonner (C) def. Whitney Clack 8-4

Michelle Phillips (H) def. Christie Loden 8-4

Tiffany Murray (C) def. Emily Gilreath 8-4

Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Lauren Belcher 9-7

Emily Davis (H) def. Erin Jones 8-3

Lydia Lindsey (H) def. Taylor McKenzie 8-2

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Bonner/Murray 8-4

Gilreath/Gossett (H) def. Loden/Jones 8-4

Belcher/McKenzie (C) def. Schannuth/Davis 8-6

Hixson Boys def. Chattanooga Central Boys 7-2

Boys Singles:

John Mitchell (C) def. Alex Condra 8-2

Jeff Chastain (C) def. Carl Phillips 8-3

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Walt Braley 8-3

Richard Vuong (H) def. Kevin Chiang 8-2

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Blake Ragsdale 8-1

Rivers De'Friese (H) def. Kylan Harrison 8-3

Boys Doubles:

Condra/Phillips (H) def. Mitchell/Chastain 8-6

Nguyen/Vuong (H) def. Braley/Chiang 8-4

Lindsey/De'Friese (H) def. Ragsdale/Harrison 9-7

Records:

Hixson Girls: 8-4 (Overall); 8-0 (6-A/AA)

Hixson Boys: 10-2 (Overall); 8-0 (6-A/AA)

UP NEXT: Friday, April 19, Silverdale at Home.  The weather does not look promising for tomorrow afternoon.  Since Silverdale is not in our district, we will most likely not make this one up if we get rained out.  If we play, it should be a good match as nearly all the private Christian Academies put together competitive teams.  Hope we get it in!

Stay Strong, Boston.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the People of Boston today.  I found out what had happened during our match against East Ridge.  

Hixson Boys and Girls won today.  Here are the full results:

Hixson Girls def. East Ridge Girls 9-0

Girls Singles:

Whitney Clack def. Anna Millard 8-0

Emily Gilreath def. Ruby Hambrick 8-1

Maggie Ozborn def. Lindsey Lee 8-1

Corynne Schannuth def. Sarah Barnes 8-0

Lydia Lindsey def. Kiava Ballard 8-0

Caylee Schannuth def. Ashley Holt 8-0

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Lindsey def. Lee/Barnes 8-1

Gilreath/Ozborn def. Hambrick/Kendra Smith 8-1

Cor. Schannuth/Cay. Schannuth def. Millard/Holt 8-2

Hixson Boys def. East Ridge Boys 9-0

Boys Singles:

Rivers De'Friese def. Preston Kirby 8-6

Landon Goforth def. Nicholas Melton 8-1

Ethan Gossett def. William Richardson 8-1

Alex Condra wins by forfeit

Richard Vuong wins by forfeit

Jacob Lindsey wins by forfeit

Boys Doubles:

Gossett/Goforth def. Kirby/Melton 8-4

Lindsey/De'Friese  win by forfeit

Kevin Nguyen/Richard Vuong win by forfeit

UP NEXT: Tuesday, April 16 CSAS at home.  I expect CSAS to be at full strength and looking for a little revenge tomorrow on the boys side.  The girls have a tough one on their hands too.  Should be good.  The Showdown Part Deux?

Wildcats March Past Patriots!

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Earlier today I posted the above picture on Facebook and billed today's match as "The Showdown at Warner Park".  I think it lived up to the billing.

I didn't post any details about yesterday's match.  I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever posted scores without saying anything about what happened.  Truth is the girls simply took care of business, and I was just too mad to post about the boys.  I thought they played Red Bank with no heart yesterday, and while they won, I was disappointed and frustrated.  

I challenged the boys today to show me they wanted to be serious contenders for the District Championship.  I was also abundantly clear that if they did not hustle and show me that they were willing to fight for every point, that I would forfeit their court.  Knowing full well the ramifications of forfeiting a court against a district rival such as CSAS.  Every single one of the boys responded positively to my challenge.  We met a slightly handicapped Patriot team (they were missing two of their top six), but the Hixson Boys took care of business with a decisive 7-2 victory and sole possession of first place in District 6-A/AA.  It very nearly was total domination as the the two courts we lost (#2 Singles and #1 Doubles) we lost 6-8.

I was so worried about my boys going in to today, I made a careless mistake.  I did not think the CSAS girls would pose a problem for our girls.  I was completely wrong!!  Those CSAS girls are young, but they are fighters.  We very nearly lost.  Big congratulations to Corynne Schannuth, who was the last girl still playing with the score tied at 4-4, and she came through with arguably the biggest win of her high school career: 8-6.  

Big day for Hixson Tennis, both our boys and girls are in first place in the district. Full results below:

Hixson Girls def. CSAS Girls 5-4

Kirstin Johnson (C) def. Whitney Clack 8-6

Michelle Phillips (H) def. Yasmine Foster 8-1

Sneha Mahesh (C) def. Haylee Gossett 8-6

Emily Gilreath (H) def. Cadence Camp 8-1

Allycia Lee (C) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-3

Corynne Schannuth (H) def. Katie Foster 8-6

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Johnson/Y. Foster 8-2

Gossett/Gilreath (H) def. Lee/K. Foster 9-7

Mahesh/Camp (C) def. Ozborn/Schannuth 8-6

Hixson Boys def. CSAS Boys 7-2

Alex Condra (H) def. Visaal Sivakumar 9-7

Raymond Kim (C) def. Carl Phillips 8-6

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Austin Azcona 8-2

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Kevin Lee 8-3

Richard Vuong (H) def. Rupert Cong 8-1

Rivers De'Friese (H) def. Sean Kennon 8-2

Boys Doubles:

Sivakumar/Kim (C) def. Condra/Phillips 8-4

Nguyen/Vuong (H) def. Azcona/Lee 8-4

Lindsey/De'Friese (H) def. Cong/Kennon 8-2

Records:

Hixson Girls: 6-4 (Overall); 6-0 (6-A/AA)

Hixson Boys: 8-2 (Overall); 6-0 (6-A/AA)

UP NEXT: Thursday, April 11, East Hamilton @ Home.  Both our teams won in our first meeting, but you can bet the Hurricanes will be out for some revenge.  It will be an interesting match to be sure. Hixson has a giant bullseye on their back now that we are in first place.

Hixson Tames the Lions

 

Hixson Girls Def. Red Bank Girls 9-0

Girls Singles:

Whitney Clack def. Katie Lawson 8-3

Michelle Phillips def. Amee Desai 8-5

Haylee Gossett def. Lynn Tran 8-3

Emily Gilreath def. Julia Reed 8-1

Maggie Ozborn def. Madyson Williams 8-1

Corynne Schannuth def. Taylor Lewis 8-0

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips def. Lawson/Desai 8-3

Gossett/Gilreath def. Tran/Reed 8-1

Ozborn/Schannuth def. Williams/Lewis 8-3

Hixson Boys def. Red Bank Boys 6-3

Boys Singles:

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

Carl Phillips (H) def. Jonathan Campbell 8-6

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Matthew Smith 9-8 (7-4)

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Josh Reed 8-0

Richard Vuong (H) def. James Lewis 8-1

Rivers De'Friese (H) def. Tucker Williams 8-3

Boys Doubles:

Gagliano/Campbell (RB) def. Condra/Phillips 8-4

Smith Lewis (RB) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-5

Landon Goforth/Ethan Gossett (H) def. Reed/Corbin Mitchell 8-3

Records:

Hixson Girls: 5-4 (Overall); 5-0 (6-A/AA)

Hixson Boys: 7-2 (Overall; 5-0 (6-A/AA)

UP NEXT:  Wednesday, April 9 @ CSAS.  The three-time defending champions on the boys' side of District 6-A/AA will be MUCH tougher than the Red Bank Boys who gave us fits today.  We need to play near flawless tennis to keep this one close.  I hope my boys are ready.  The girls should do well if they play as they did today.

Hixson Splits with Boyd Buchanan

Well today was the first day in what should be a pretty tough week for the Wildcats. Due to a makeup match later this week with CSAS, we will play four matches in four days-- Monday through Thursday.  With that in mind, we had a mandatory practice on Saturday.  For the most part these kids are on their own this week, as I can't help them quite as much during a match as I can at practice, but this should be a great learning experience.

The girls were handed their biggest defeat of the season: 8-1.  Last week at Cleveland I alluded to the idea that I didn't think the girls were playing as well as they should.  For the most part, that was not the case today.  I thought most of our girls played tough today against a very good Boyd Buchanan team.  The Boyd Buchanan girls are the defending 5-A/AA Champions, and they played like it today.  Congrats to Whitney and Michelle for picking up a win at #1 doubles to prevent the shutout.

Our young Hixson boys rebounded from their loss against Cleveland quite nicely, beating an equally young Boyd Buchanan team 6-3.  There were close matches up and down the lineup, and this one could have gone either way.  Very proud of our boys for pulling it out.  Alex & Carl really solidified our win by winning their singles matches and teaming up to win at #1 doubles.

Here are the results:

Boyd buchanan Girls def. Hixson Girls 8-1

Girls Singles:

Makenna Thomas (BB) def. Whitney Clack 8-4

Katie Delay (BB) def. Michelle Phillips 8-3
Paige Zumbrun (BB) def. Haylee Gossett 8-4

Shelby Brown (BB) def. Emily Gilreath 8-0

Peyton Miller (BB) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-6

Courtney Ozborn (BB) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-6

Girls Doubles:

Clack/Phillips (H) def. Delay/Zumbrun 8-5

Thomas/Jessica Kirk (BB) def. Gossett/Gilreath (8-6)

Miller/Ozborn (BB) def. Ozborn/Schannuth (8-3)

Hixson Boys def. Boyd Buchanan Boys 6-3

Boys Singles:

Alex Condra (H) def. Joseph Fairchild 8-5

Carl Phillips (H) def. Jake Hardin 9-7

Kevin Nguyen (H) def. Stephen Ingram 8-4

Grayson Hartness (BB) def. Jacob Lindsey 8-2

Richard Vuong (H) def. Nathan Commers 8-4

Charlie Driver (BB) def. Rivers De'Friese 9-7

Boys Doubles:

Condra/Phillips (H) def. Fairchild/Ingram 8-6

Hartness/Commers (BB) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-3

Lindsey/De'Friese (H) def. Jake Perry/Grant Mathis 8-1

Records:

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

UP NEXT: Tuesday, April 9 @ Red Bank.  We've met the Lions already this year.  They will be seeking to play us a little better.  Very important match for our boys and girls, as we need to keep our district winning streak alive!

Cleveland Cools the 'Cats.

Well, I did not get the result I had hoped, but I think we got a lot out of our trip to Lee University. This is our second year playing Cleveland, and I hope to continue the series in the future, because I love for our kids to get to play on such a beautiful campus.  Big THANK YOU to all the parents who helped shuttle kids from Hixson to Cleveland.  I don't think any of our players had to drive, which really takes a load off my mind.  

 

As I said in Monday's post, I had no idea what to expect from Cleveland, but I figured they would be tough.  It goes with the territory when we are playing the bigger schools, the competition is going to be stiffer.  For only the second time this season, both our Boys and Girls lost.

 

On the Boys side of things we really had our chances.  The bottom of our lineup really took care of business, with my #4, 5 and 6  (Jacob, Richard and Rivers) all winning their singles matches, but I only got one win in doubles at #3 (Jacob and Rivers).  All the matches we lost, were close.  I thought Cleveland played very smart, and perhaps they had a little more experience and that ended up being the difference.  

 

I'll be honest, I thought the girls came out a little flat for the most part today.  Not to take anything away from the Cleveland girls, because they had some very good players up and down the lineup.  I just thought we could have at least made some of those losses closer.  In singles their were only two matches that were close.  In one of those, we came out on top.  Michelle played maybe the best I've seen her play this year, winning her match 8-6 in the #2 slot.  Corynne also played a good match at #6, losing 5-8.  

 

Part of the problem was not having a tougher match on Monday.  Another issue was our coming off of Spring Break.  As I said, some of our players did not pick up a racquet over the break.  Hopefully, they learned why they should keep hitting over the holiday.  Here are the full results:

 

 

Cleveland Girls defeat Hixson Girls 7-2

Girls Singles:

Maddie Ohlsson (C) def. Whitney Clack 8-4

Michelle Phillips (H) def. Katherine Cantrell 8-6

Abigail Londerback (C) def. Haylee Gossett 8-4

Briley Moore (C) def. Emily Gilreath 8-2

Mallori Terry (C) def. Maggie Ozborn 8-2

Heidi Barringer (C) def. Corynne Schannuth 8-5

Girls Doubles:

Ohlsson/Louderback (C) def. Clack/Phillips 9-7

Cantrell/Moore (C) def. Gossett/Gilreath 8-6

Ozborn/Schannuth (H) Terry/Barringer 8-4

Cleveland Boys def. Hixson Boys 5-4

Boys Singles:

Jake Gibson (C) def. Alex Condra 8-5

Kevin Harncharran (C) def. Carl Phillips 8-5

Shvang Patel (C) def. Kevin Nguyen 8-6

Jacob Lindsey (H) def. Matthew Harris 8-4

Richard Vuong (H) def. Roy Roman 8-2

Rivers De'Friese (H) def. Luke Bradero 8-0

Boys Doubles: 

Gibson/ (C) def. Condra/Phillips 8-5
Harncharran/Patel (C) def. Nguyen/Vuong 8-6

Lindsey/De'Friese (H) def. Roman/Bradero 8-1

Records:

Hixson Girls: 4-3 (Overall); 4-0 (District 6-A/AA)
Hixson Boys: 5-2 (Overall); 4-0 (District 6-A/AA)

UP NEXT: Monday, April 8 @ Boyd Buchanan.  The beginning of a CRAZY week.  All the Private Christian Academies tend to have good players.  Expect BB to be no different.  We need to play our best on the Boys and Girls side in order to get a win.

Wildcats Sweep Away the Pioneers.

Well our first day back from Spring Break and we had to make up a rained out match with East Ridge.  You never know what you're going to get from your players after vacation.  I'm sure many of them did not pick up a racquet over the break.  I think it turned out okay, and was probably, in the end, more productive than having a practice.  Both teams won easily 9-0.  

Not really much to say about the matches, except that East Ridge is only in their second year of having a tennis program after a four year absence.  Many of the players on the other side of the net are playing their first meaningful high school matches this year.  With that in mind, I gave our top seeded players the day off.  I told our players to play hard, but to be extra courteous to the East Ridge players.  We did not want the Pioneers to experience any sort of bad sportsmanship on our part.  Our area needs tennis in as many high schools as possible.  The last thing we want is for these kids to feel like they are being shown up, then not come out for tennis next year.  I thought our kids did a great job today as ambassadors of the sport of tennis.  Very proud of the Wildcats today!

Full results here:

 

 

Hixson Girls def. East Ridge Girls 9-0

Girls Singles:

Emily Gilreath def. Ruby Hambrick 8-0

Maggie Ozborn def. Sarah Barnes 8-2

Corynne Schannuth def. Linsay Lee 8-0

Emily Davis def. Kendra Smith 8-0

Lydia Lindsey def. Brooke Culver 8-0

Caylee Schannuth def. Joanna Hernandez 8-1

Girls Doubles:

Gilreath/Ozborn def. Habrick/Smith 8-1

Cor. Schannuth/Davis def. Barnes/Lee 8-0

Lindsey/Cay. Schannuth def. Culver/Arisha Paige 8-0

Hixson Boys def. East Ridge Boys 9-0

Boys Singles:

Rivers De'Friese def. Nicholas Melton 8-0

Ethan Gossett def. Nicholas Gray 8-1

Landon Goforth def. Travis Crabtree 8-3

Alex Condra wins by forfeit

Carl Phillips wins by forfeit

Jacob Lindsey wins by forfeit

Boys Doubles:

Gossett/Goforth def. Melton/Gray 8-0

Condra/Phillips  win by forfeit

Kevin Nguyen/Richard Vuong win by forfeit

Records:

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

Hixson Boys: 5-1 (Overall); 4-0 (District 6-A/AA)

UP NEXT: Wednesday, April 3 @ Cleveland.  Not exactly sure what to expect from the Blue Raiders, but they are usually tough.  They play their home matches on the campus of Lee University, which is a great setting for tennis.  Should be fun!