State tournament play opens next week
MOULTRIE — The Colquitt County boys soccer team will play its first postseason game since 2004 on Wednesday when it plays host to Paulding County at 5 p.m. at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.
The Colquitt County girls tennis team will play its first-round state tournament match on Tuesday, when Morrow visits at 3 p.m.
Colquitt’s girls finished second in Region 1-AAAAA, enabling the Lady Packers to play at least their first state tournament match at home.
The Lady Packers will take a 13-5 overall record into their match with the Lady Mustangs, the No. 3 team from Region 4.
Colquitt was 10-2 and lost only to region champion Warner Robins in the region.
Warner Robins, in its first year in the region, snapped Colquitt County’s string of four straight region championships.
The Lady Packers are likely to send our sophomore Cara McCalley at No. 1 singles, sophomore Carli Hester at No. 2 singles and sophomore Laura Murphy at No. 2 singles.
The Lady Packers strength has been its doubles teams this season.
The No. 1 team of juniors Jessica Harvin and Savanna Lamon will take a 13-1 record into the match against Morrow.
Alexa Isaacs and Kate Reeves, a pair of sophomores, are 7-1.
A win would pit the Lady Packers against the winner of the Union Grove-Windsor Forest match. Union Grove is the No. 1 team from Region 2-AAAAA
Warner Robins will be at home for its first-round match and will face Paulding County, the No. 4 team from Region 4.
Tift County, which finished No. 3, will travel to Newnan. Coffee, Region 1’s No. 4 team, will go on the road to meet Region 4 champion Hiram.
The Colquitt County boys soccer team rebounded from last year’s 6-11 record to go 14-3 and finish as the Region 1-AAAAA runner-up.
And the 9-3 region mark enabled the Packers to play at least one more match at home, where they are 7-2.
Paulding County will be making the trip from Dallas, which is located west of Atlanta.
The Patriots are 4-2 in Region 4-AAAAA and took an 11-5 overall record into Friday’s match with 17-0 Sequoyah.
Paulding had won seven of its previous eight matches before taking on Sequoyah and had outscored scored its 16 opponents 56-25. The Patriots were 10-4-1 last year.
Also next week, Region 1-AAAAA champion Houston County will play host to Tri-Cities; No. 3 Warner Robins will travel to East Coweta; and No. 4 Tift County will go to Newnan.
In Class AAAAA girls state tournament openers, Region 1-AAAAA champion Warner Robins will play host to Paulding County; region runner-up Houston County will play host to Hiram; No. 3 Tift County will travel to East Coweta; and No. 4 Lowndes will travel to meet Region 4 champion Newnan.