Manchester Academy’s tennis team won the boys and girls’ conference championships on Monday in Greenville in dominating fashion and will compete in the MAIS AA North State tournament next Monday in Greenville. The Mavericks won seven of the nine championship matches scoring 8 points each by the boys and girls’ teams with runner-up St. Joe with five points and Tri County with ½ point.
“We had an excellent conference tournament and qualified our entire team for North State for the first time in school history,” commented Manchester coach Debbie Crisler. “I especially want to recognize Staten Greenlee for refusing to lose and battling back to win after losing the first set in a tough match. Also, Elizabeth Turner and Mary Sibley McGraw also played with a lot of heart in their comeback victory. These kids are so determined, and I am really proud of all of them.”
Senior Josie Coker set the tone for the Mavericks with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Mary Michael Mahalite of Greenville St. Joe at #1 singles and is undefeated on the season with an 11-0 record. Sophomore Monica Morrison was equally impressive for Manchester at #2 singles winning her match over Sarah Tonos with a perfect 6-0, 6-0 score.
In an epic match, Elizabeth Turner and Mary Sibley McGraw clawed and fought their way to the conference title after losing the first set against Carsen Mansour and Olivia DeAngelo of St. Joe. With the Mavericks down 3-2 in the first set, McGraw reached for a high ball and injured her shoulder. After a medical timeout, the Mavs fell behind 5-2, but managed to tie the set at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker that they narrowly lost 7-4. Undeterred and with McGraw playing through the pain, the Mav pair won the second set in yet another tiebreaker 7-5 and forced a decisive third-set 10-point tiebreaker for the conference championship. Turner and McGraw claimed their second conference #1 doubles title in two years as they closed out the talented Lady Irish duo 10-6 in the tiebreaker.
M.A.’s Abbie Carroll and Sophie Humphreys cruised to an easy 6-0, 6-0 victory over Tri County’s Tara Davis and Kendall Stewart in the semi-finals of #2 doubles. The Mavs faced Lindsey Lunn and Sarah Hayek of St. Joe in the finals. Hayek, overcoming an injury, is last season’s AAA #1 girls’ singles state champion and is a force in #2 doubles; however, the Mavericks gave them all they wanted, but lost 6-0, 6-3 and look forward to getting another shot at the team at North State finals.
Upton Hitt qualified for North State at #1 singles by defeating Harrison Hays of Tri County, but lost to Chris Adams of St. Joe in the finals. Maverick ninth grader Staten Greenlee beat Michael Mansour in the finals 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 in a clutch performance to win the #2 singles conference title and secure a #1 seed at North State.
Manchester’s boys’ doubles teams both claimed the winners’ trophies with Matt Carroll and Will Peeler crushing St. Joe’s Brittain Virden and Brice Johnson 6-1, 6-3 in the #1 doubles finals. Meanwhile, Hayes Bardwell and Zach Haynes barely broke a sweat defeating Jojo Sanders and Christopher Tonos of St. Joe 6-1, 6-0 in the #2 doubles championship match.
Finally, M.A.’s mixed doubles team of Reid Bain and Ann Hampton Wells were seeded second in the conference tournament and had to win two matches for the conference title. They won their first match 6-1, 6-0 over St. Joe’s Madison Knight and Frank Serio and then beat Tri County’s Emma Bozeman and Will Young, the conference #1 mixed doubles seed, 6-3, 6-1 in the finals.
