Granger Invitational’s in the books
Published 8:20 pm Sunday, March 11, 2018
By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY
Daily News
Another one’s in the books.
The 27th Granger Invitational wrapped up on Saturday afternoon, with dozens of teams from across the state participating in the event that has been a fixture in the community for nearly three decades.
The two-day event, which is held at tennis facilities across
the area including McCluskey Tennis Center and LaGrange College, finished on a sunny and mild Saturday afternoon.
In the final matches, it was the Brookstone girls’ team beating Columbus, and the North Cobb boys’ team dispatching Jefferson to capture the division one championships.
More than 70 teams participated in the tournament.
LaGrange head coach Kenny Moore began the tournament almost 30 years ago, and it has run interrupted since then.
Moore appreciates what the tournament does for the community, and for his program from a financial standpoint.
“That’s always been important to me. It’s a little bit of a point of pride that this tournament has sort of a nice impact for our community,” Moore said. “Also, it allows us to have a pretty special tennis program without taking money from the athletic department.”
LaGrange’s teams participated in division two, and they fared well.
LaGrange’s boys’ team went 3-0, and it outlasted Jackson County 3-2 in the championship match on Saturday morning.
LaGrange’s girls’ team finished 2-1, and it fell to Coffee County 4-1 on Saturday in the championship match.
LaGrange’s boys’ team won a region championship last season and reached the semifinals of the state tournament before falling to Marist.
The Grangers lost some key members of that team, including five of the seven players who were on the court against Marist in the semifinals, but they’ve continued to thrive.
With its three wins in the Granger Invitational, LaGrange improved to 10-2.
“The boys, they just keep surprising me, which is sort of fun,” Moore said.
LaGrange beat Campbell 4-1 and North Gwinnett 4-1 on Friday before handling Jackson County 3-2 in a hard-fought match on Saturday.
Jackson County won two of three singles matches, but LaGrange won both of the doubles matches.
At No. 2 doubles, it came down to a tie-breaker after the teams split the first two sets. Cole Crocker and Baker Skinner won the first set 6-3 and lost the second set 7-5, and they won the tie-breaker 10-8 to get the hard-earned win.
It was also a tight one at number two singles, with LaGrange’s Pierce Skinner winning in a tie-breaker as well.
Skinner lost the first 7-5, but he won the second set 6-4 and prevailed 10-3 in the tie-breaker.
At number one doubles, LaGrange’s Youngha Cho and Youngjin Sho won 6-2, 6-4.
Jackson Kuerzi fell short at number one singles, and Jinseong Jun lost at number three singles.
On the girls’ side, LaGrange beat Campbell and North Gwinnett on Friday to earn a shot at the division two championship.
LaGrange got a win at number two doubles from Ella Eiland and Kaylee Key, but Coffee County won the other four matches.
At number one doubles, it was LaGrange’s Abbi Lynn Lanier and Lizzie Wilkerson losing 10-8 in the tie-breaker.
LaGrange’s Wone Mi Oh, Louise Dodson and Annie Pauley each fell short in singles.
LAGRANGE HIGH RESULTS
ROUND THREE
BOYS
LAGRANGE 3, JACKSON COUNTY 2
NO. 1 SINGLES – Kade Graves (J) beat Jackson Kuerzi, 6-3, 6-4
NO. 2 SINGLES – Pierce Skinner (L) beat Nick Bergeron, 5-7, 6-4, (10-3)
NO. 3 SINGLES – Kyle Grabs (L) beat Jinseong Jun, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
NO. 1 DOUBLES – Youngha Cho and Youngjin Shin (L) beat David Costea and Cole Collier, 6-2, 6-4
NO. 2 DOUBLES – Cole Crocker and Baker Skinner (L) beat Brendon Mitchell and Hayden Dutton, 6-3, 5-7, (10-8)
GIRLS
COFFEE COUNTY 4, LAGRANGE 1
NO. 1 SINGLES – Sophia Winters (C) beat Wone Mi Oh, 6-0, 6-0
NO. 2 SINGLES – AG Scholten (C) beat Louise Dodson, 6-0, 6-1
NO. 3 SINGLES – Kaden Walker (C) beat Annie Pauley, 6-0, 6-2
NO. 2 DOUBLES – Chris Rus and Reece Hempden (C) beat Abbi Lynn Lanier and Lizzie Wilkerson, 4-6, 6-4, (10-8)
NO. 3 DOUBLES – Ella Eiland and Kaylee Key (L) beat Addi Cole and Anna Unger, 6-3, 5-7, (10-3)
ROUND TWO
BOYS
LAGRANGE 4, NORTH GWINNETT 1
NO. 1 SINGLES – Pierce Skinner (L) beat Ethan DerBrok, 3-6, 6-2, (10-5)
NO. 2 SINGLES – Jackson Kuerzi (L) beat Andrew Yoon, 6-1, 6-0
NO. 3 SINGLES – Youngha Cho (L) beat Andrew Yoon, 6-1, 6-0
NO. 1 DOUBLES – Jinseong Jun and Baker Skinner (L) beat Raja Srinivajan and Collin Ladina, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
NO. 2 DOUBLES – Colby Niemann and Connor Priest (N) beat James Lee and Albert Kim, 6-2, 6-1
GIRLS
ROUND TWO
LAGRANGE 5, NORTH GWINNETT 0
NO. 1 SINGLES – Wone Mi Oh (L) beat Ginny Anderson, 6-1, 6-2
NO. 2 SINGLES – Louise Dodson (L) beat Courtney Bowher, 6-2, 6-2
NO. 3 SINGLES – Ella Eiland (L) beat Mallory Harris, 6-4, 6-2
NO. 1 DOUBLES – Abbi Lynn Lanier and Lizzie Wilkerson (L) beat Ellen Lee and Subian Antal, 5-7, 6-0, (10-3)
NO. 2 DOUBLES – Jina Shin and Annie Pauley (L) beat Kaitlyn Mraz and Kate Cadogan, 6-2, 6-4
ROUND ONE
BOYS
LAGRANGE 4, CAMPBELL 1
NO. 1 SINGLES – Jackson Kuerzi (L) beat Dylan Mallon, 6-4, 6-4
NO. 2 SINGLES – Pierce Skinner (L) beat Jack Mallon, 6-4, 6-4
NO. 3 SINGLES – Jinseong Jun (L) beat Sean Kite-Powell, 6-3, 6-4
NO. 1 DOUBLES – Brian Deluryea and Jace Ramsey (C) beat Youngha Cho and Baker Skinner, 7-5, 7-5
NO. 2 DOUBLES – James Lee and Albert Kim (L) beat Josh Taub and Ajay Mathur, 6-1, 6-2
GIRLS
LAGRANGE 5, CAMPBELL 0
NO. 1 SINGLES – Wone Mi Oh (L) beat Jenny Shen, 6-0, 6-1
NO. 2 SINGLES – Louise Dodson (L) baet Tsemaye Oseragbaje, 6-1, 6-1
NO. 3 SINGLES – Annie Pauley (L) Joselyn Shen, 6-2, 6-4
NO. 1 DOUBLES – Brian Deluryea and Jace Ramsey (C) beat Youngha Cho and Baker Skinner, 7-5, 7-5
NO. 2 DOUBLES – Kaylee Key and Ella Eiland (L) beat Cedelia Pumpelly and Kayla Holloway, 6-1, 6-2
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