Hats off to the Georgia state champions in tennis from Fulton County, as an astonishing five schools from the county won a title out of the 10 that were awarded. Beyond that, there were a combined 10 of 20 teams in the finals from Fulton.
DOMINATING THE COURTS …
The Alpharetta boys tennis team won the Class 5A state championship in convincing fashion. In the semifinals, they defeated Colquitt County 3-0 and, in the final round, they ousted Walton 3-1. Senior Zack Wagner led the way for the Raiders, winning 6-0, 6-0 in the semis and 6-3, 6-3 in the finals.
Head coach Steven W. Kolkka was exceedingly proud of his team and how they played this season.
"I have been coaching 25 years…and this is still the best team I have ever coached," exclaimed Kolkka.
"The biggest reason we have been able to go undefeated is the depth of our team," Kolkka said when asked how his team was able to succeed this year. "When I have had someone sick or injured, I could put in someone else and they would still win their match. Since I have been fortunate to have great young men to work with, I have not had too many challenges this year."
Alpharetta was able to go undefeated on the season, a perfect 23-0. They were the only boys tennis team in any class in the state of Georgia to go undefeated this year.
Meanwhile, Johns Creek won the boys Class 3A title in their inaugural season, as they swept Woodward Academy and Riverwood along the way. This was a magnificent accomplishment for a first-year school.
Blessed Trinity narrowly won the boys Class 2A championship by defeating yet another Fulton team. This time, it was a 3-2 win over Westminster.
The Woodward Academy Lade War Eagles won their second Class 3A championship in three years this past week. Coach Kim Tatum told me last week that they had one goal in mind this season and that goal was accomplished when they defeated Riverwood 3-0 in the state finals.
The Blessed Trinity girls joined the boys team as state champions of Class 2A. Like the boys, they also had to defeat Westminster and did so in a 4-0 romp.
GOLF AND TRACK RESULTS …
Westminster won the Class 2A state championship in boys golf last week and were led by freshman Tripp H’doubler, who shot a tournament-low 1-under 71. His teammates weren’t too bad either, combining for team score of 300 and winning the tournament by a remarkable 17 shots. No individual shot over 78 for the Wildcats.
There were no overall titles for any county teams in Albany at the girls state track meet last week. However, a few individuals stood out and performed extremely well in the spotlight of the state meet.
Samantha Sanchez of Blessed Trinity set the state record with an 11’0.500" vault to win the individual title in the pole vault event. She upset Claire Goodson, last year’s winner and this year’s region champion.
"This was an especially big thrill for Samantha to defeat such an outstanding competitor as Claire who has always conducted herself with such dignity and class," head coach Scott Findlay told the AJC on Saturday.
Not to be outdone, Milton’s Samantha Becker won the Class 5A pole vault event and broke the state record set only moments before by vaulting 12’0". Alpharetta’s Dylan Hassett put forth her best effort and won the 3200-meters just as head coach Nicole Hudson had predicted in last week’s beat.
Westlake gave it their best effort, but ultimately fell short by two overall team points. Shani Chandler finished second in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Both Chandler and Aubrielle Wright will run track at the University of Alabama next year according to head coach Jason Cage.
Our Lady of Mercy finished second overall at the Class A state track meet.
"All of the hard work has been logged and the girls are ready
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