Tigers In Top Form To Advance In State Tournament

After a couple weeks off since their region championship win in late March, the Darlington Tigers could’ve come out a little rusty.

Instead, they looked like they haven’t missed a beat on Monday as they opened the Class A Division I state tournament with an emphatic victory.

On their home courts, the Tigers dominated from start to finish at all five lines and showed the fire necessary in the postseason to beat Atlanta International 5-0 and advance to the second round. In fact, Darlington didn’t even lose a set against the defending state champion.

“Our boys were hyped-up from the time we stepped on the court today to warm up. They were ready to play and show how much they wanted it,” Darlington head coach Betina Fuentes said. “Almost all our players play a lot of tournament tennis, so they know how to turn it up, and they all did that today. I’m so happy to see them perform like that and get that victory to move on and keep playing in the next round.”

Earning decisive wins at the singles lines were No. 1 Jan Luis Weers, No. 2 Murray Ellington and No. 3 John Courtnay.

There was no drop-off in doubles action either as the No. 1 team of Felipe Selle and Nicolas Ntayagabiri won, as did the No. 2 team of Asa Shepard and Grady Ferguson. Both teams took care of their opponents in two sets to complete the sweep.

With the win, Darlington advanced to the second round to take on the winner of the first-round match between No. 2 seed Tallulah Falls and No. 3 seed Social Circle. The Tigers will host that second-round match, which must be played by April 24.

“We’re so excited. Our boys saw the girls team go far last year and win the state championship, so they have been motivated to make a run like that this year,” Fuentes said. “Our boys really believe they can do it, and if they play and focus like they did today, they definitely have a chance to.”

Weber girls 3, Darlington 2

The Lady Tigers saw their season and their bid to defend their state championship come to an end with a narrow loss in the first round on their home court, in a battle that came down to the final match.

After Darlington and Weber fought to a 2-all tie, with the Lady Tigers winning two singles matches and Weber taking both doubles lines, it was the Lady Rams who secured the season-extending victory with a win in three sets at No. 2 singles.

“Our girls never stopped fighting. They played to the very end, but it just didn’t go our way today,” Fuentes said. “They really don’t know any other way than to put it all on the line like that. It’s a tough one, but we have a young team this year with only a couple seniors, so we hope our girls that are coming back use that as motivation next year.”

Earning the two wins for Darlington were Julie Madden at No. 1 singles and Audrey Abbott at No. 3 singles. Sophie Piller competed hard at No. 2 singles, rallying back after losing the first set to win the second and force a decisive third. Her Weber opponent was able to outlast her in the final set, however, finishing off the upset win for the No. 4 seed.

Weber will now visit No. 2 seed Rabun County in the second round in a match that must be played by April 24.