Colquitt tennis teams win, will play at Walton on Thursday

Published 10:27 pm Monday, April 19, 2021

MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County girls and boys tennis teams swept an opening-round, Class 7A state tournament doubleheader against two Region 4 opponents on Monday at Packer Park and will head north for the second round on Thursday.

The Lady Packers defeated Brookwood 3-0 to advance and the Colquitt County boys defeated Grayson 3-1.

Odessa Dixon, playing No. 3 singles, got the clinching point for the Colquitt girls, defeating Jenna Herren 6-3, 6-2.

The Lady Packers also won at No. 1 doubles where Hayden Roberts and Karli Yarbrough won over Kate Phelan and Emma Fisher 6-1, 6-0.

The other Colquitt County girls point came at No. 2 singles where Eva Barnett defeated Saxon Williams 6-4, 6-2.

The Colquitt County No. 2 doubles team of Shelly Azar and Ella Roberts was up when it was pulled from the court after Dixon’s clincher.

“Our girls really came out ready to play,” said coach Amber Hurst, noting that the Lady Packers were not taken to a third set. “They went out and got it done.”

The victory was especially gratifying after the Lady Packers were undefeated in Region 1-7A last year when the season was abruptly cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We really wanted it after last year.”

The Colquitt County boys got all three of their wins at singles.

At No. 1, Mark Breedlove had little trouble, winning 6-0, 6-0.

Zack Tucker, playing No. 2, won 6-3, 6-2.

And Jacob Icard won at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-2.

“Those guys were pretty much light’s out today,” said Colquitt County coach Mell Wier. “But that’s the way we’ve done it all year. We’ve rode those guys all year.”

Wier is still a bit frustrated that his team’s only Region 1-7A loss this season came in the region tournament finals at McKey Park when the Packers fell to Camden County 2-3.

Had the Packers won the championship, they likely would have won their first-round match and would be looking forward to playing at Packer Park again on Thursday.

But, as it turns out, the Packers will now have to travel to play at one of the top high school tennis programs in the state.

Walton’s boys, the Region 3 champions, won over McEachern 3-0 on Monday and will lie in wait in Marietta for the Packers to visit on Thursday.

The Raiders have won nine state championships, the most recent coming in 2015.

The Colquitt County girls also will play at Walton on Thursday.

The Lady Raiders also dispatched McEachern 3-0.

Walton’s girls have won six straight championships from 2013-2018, have won 16 of the last 19 state titles and have won 20 total.

They also have the longest winning streak of any sport in Georgia, with 158 in a row.

The girls will play at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The boys will start at 3 p.m.