LaGrange wins Granger Invitational
Published 1:46 am Tuesday, March 16, 2021
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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY
Daily News
One year ago, the LaGrange High girls’ tennis team was flying high and looking forward to the home stretch of the season.
The 2020 season was canceled in the middle of March because of COVID-19, though, so the Lady Grangers didn’t get an opportunity to chase their lofty goals.
Fortunately for LaGrange, it looks like there is a green light for the remainder of the 2021 season, and once again things look promising.
LaGrange continued what has been an exceptional season by winning the Division II championship in the Granger Invitational on Saturday.
LaGrange beat Calhoun and St. Pius X on Friday, and it handled Roswell on Saturday to win the title and remain unbeaten on the season.
It was the second tournament title of the season for LaGrange, which won the Jekyll Jam earlier this month.
“It’s so awesome. I’m so excited for our team,” said senior Annie Pauley, LaGrange’s number two singles player. “A bunch of us seniors have been playing together since we were very little, so it’s exciting to see everybody developing and playing really well, and it’s been a really good season so far.”
Pauley recalls the frustration of seeing a promising season end early, and she’s looking forward to seeing what she and her teammates can accomplish.
“Jekyll was the last thing we got to do last year,” Pauley said. “We won Jekyll and we were on this high and it was super exciting, then our season got cancelled. We had a chance to go really far last year, and I think this year we’ll have a chance.”
A key to LaGrange’s success is its depth.
From Sydney Edelson at number one singles, to Maddie Nolen and Sophie Nix at number two doubles, there are no weak spots in the lineup.
Pauley and Adeline Lanier join Edelson as singles players, and the doubles teams are Ella Eiland and Wone Mi Oh, and Nolen and Nix.
“The strength is that we have depth,” said Edelson. “Some other schools have some really good players, but once you get down, then you have weaker spots, so they can’t win.”
It’s also a team filled with competitors who will fight to the final point.
“They’re solid,” said LaGrange head coach Kenny Moore. “They’re just coming together, and they keep getting down, and they come back. It’s never over.”
LaGrange opened it stay in the Granger Invitational with a 5-0 win over Calhoun on Friday, and two of the matches were decided by tie-break after the first two sets were split.
Later on Friday LaGrange beat Buford 4-1, with the lone loss coming at number one singles.
In Saturday’s championship showdown against Roswell, LaGrange won all five matches to secure the title.
LaGrange’s boys’ team, meanwhile, went 1-2 in Division II.
After beating Calhoun on Friday, LaGrange fell to Buford later in the day before losing to Coffee County on Saturday.
LaGrange also had second teams competing in Division IV.
The boys’ team went 2-0 and beat Roswell to win the division, and the girls’ team went 2-1 with wins over Roswell and Heard County and a loss to Buford.
RESULTS
GIRLS
ROUND ONE
LAGRANGE 5, CALHOUN 0
No. 1 singles – Sydney Edelson (L) beat Sydney Wright, 7-6, 6-3
No. 2 singles – Annie Pauley (L) beat Emma Gallman, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 singles – Adeline Lanier beat Ivy Tate, 4-6, 6-2, (10-8)
No. 1 doubles – Ella Eiland and Wone Mi Oh (L) beat Emma Blackstock and Ruby Christian, 4-6, 6-1, (10-3)
No. 2 doubles – Maddie Nolen and Sophie Nix beat Zoey Talley and Emma Williams, 6-2, 6-3
ROUND TWO
LAGRANGE 4, ST. PIUS X 1
No. 1 singles – Sofia Arboleda (B) beat Sydney Edelson, 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 singles – Annie Pauley (L) beat Sophia Broxterman, 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 singles – Adelina Lanier (L) beat Anna Maloof, 6-2, 6-4
No. 1 doubles – Ella Eiland and Wone Mi Oh (L) beat Charlotte Hung and Meg Griffin, 6-4, 7-6
No. 2 doubles – Maddie Nolen and Sophie Nix (L) beat Maggie Maloof and Kendall Bruce, 6-1, 6-1
ROUND THREE
LAGRANGE 5, ROSWELL 0
No. 1 singles – Sydney Edelson (L) beat Anna Mullen, 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 singles – Annie Pauley (L) beat Kendall Krantz, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 singles – Adeline Lanier (L) beat Mary Ellen Martin, 6-1, 7-6
No. 1 doubles – Ella Eiland and Wone Mi Oh (L) beat Tori Dexter and Lauren Grossman, 3-6, 7-5, (10-6)
No. 2 doubles – Maddie Nolen and Sophie Nix (L) beat Erin Roeser and Niaya Solomon, 6-3, 6-1
BOYS
ROUND ONE
LAGRANGE 5, CALHOUN 0
No. 1 singles – Pierce Skinner (L) beat Jacob Beamer, 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles – Wesley Minicozzi (L) beat Christopher Arnold, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 singles – Greg Terry (L) beat Will Meadows, 6-1, 5-7, (10-5)
No. 1 doubles – Baker Skinner and Youngin Shin (L) beat Robert Nance and Patrick Meadows, 7-6, 6-0
No. 2 doubles – Trace Smith and Towson Partin (L) beat Eli Tibbs and Jaxon Prater, 6-3, 6-0
ROUND TWO
BUFORD 4, LAGRANGE 1
No. 1 singles – Dean Kingsley (B) beat Pierce Manning, 6-3, 7-6
No. 2 singles – James Troutt (B) beat Wesley Minicozzi, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 singles – Matthew Maurer (B) beat Gret Terry, 6-4, 6-2
No. 1 doubles – Leyton Grothe and Nic Keller (B) beat Baker Skinner and Youngin Shin, 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 doubles – Towson Partin and Trace Smith (L) beat Luke Clark and Grayson Gilbert, 6-3, 6-2
ROUND THREE
COFFEE COUNTY 3, LAGRANGE 2
No. 1 singles – Ted Bagwell (C) beat Pierce Manning, 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 singles – Nat Griffin (C) beat Wesley Minicozzi, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 singles – Gabe Vining (C) beat Greg Terry, 6-0, 6-1
No. 1 doubles – Baker Skinner and Youngin Shin (L) beat Grant Overstreat and Cooper Day, 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 doubles – Towson Partin and Trace Smith (L) beat Colin Jowers and Ben Gowen, 7-6, 7-6
