Woodland boys win
The Woodland boys took an easy win against the Eagles, 4-1, in Tuesday play.
Head coach Kevin Tant said the two teams played some spirited matches and the Wildcats walked away with a win in its final tuneup before region play begins later this month.
In line 1 singles, Dustin Dodson defeated Ben Perkins of Excel, 6-0, 6-1.
"Dustin practices three or four hours a day and works so hard to get his victories," Tant said. "It was a classic match in precision tennis. It was beautiful to watch."
The coach said his Wildcats have been playing a very rugged schedule to prepare for their region matchups. "Dustin [a freshman] has been playing a lot of seniors and juniors and is learning to adjust."
In line 2 singles play, Chase Still overcame Mason Rudder, 6-0, 6-1, while at line 3, Bryce Webb lost to Stephen Barton, 5-7, 5-7.
"It was a very competitive match," Tant added.
At the doubles No. 1 line, Brandon Rutledge and James Lester defeated Andrew Tyree and JaChaz Phillips, 6-3, 6-4.
In doubles No. 2 play, R.J. Williams and Dominick Kim defeated Caleb Whistler and Jake Newhouse, 6-0, 6-0.
Tant said the Wildcats next play when they host Rome in a region matchup on March 15.
Cass sweeps
"We did our preseason schedule to prepare for region play, and I think where we're at today is where we want to be," head coach Chris Allen said. "I feel our program is showing signs of success and our kids are beginning to put together some of the work we've put into tennis the past six weeks."
The Colonels claimed a 5-0 victory while the girls were 4-1 in their matches.
At singles line 1, Matt Moore won 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4 in tiebreaker) while at line 2 Jake Barnette easily won 6-0, 6-1, and Joey Johnson swept past his opponent 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles play, Jeremy Coone and Darien Munroe won 7-5, 6-3 and Kaleb McBrayer and Brad DeLee won 6-0, 6-0.
In girls play, the Lady Colonels' Aleigh Beard won at the singles No. 1 line, 6-4, 6-2; Hannah Howard took her victories 6-1, 7-6 (7-5 in the tiebreaker) while Ally Prewett and Mitzi Johnson claimed a doubles No. 1 victory, 6-1, 6-0, and Hannah Dunlap and Lauren Simonson took their matches 6-1, 6-2.
"It was good to see Ally Prewett coming back after being out two weeks with a high ankle sprain," Allen said, "and step back into play like she did. We start region play Thursday against Rome and she got an opportunity to get a feel for her game. She works really hard and it's good to see she could hit the ball so well. It's also good for her confidence to see she's ready to play."
Allen said Moore continued to notch wins against talented players at his No. 1 singles slot.
"Matt played three set matches for us," Allen said. "He's really playing some quality talent at line 1 and has done very well thus far. He's driving the ball really well and getting a feel for the responsibility and requirements for being at that line. I'm excited to see how he does in region play."
The coach said region play is what tennis teams train for.
"It's just a different mentality because these are the matches that mean the most," he said. "We're excited to start playing matches with a little more risk."
Cass starts region play Thursday when it visits Rome. The teams play at Etowah Park at 4:30 p.m. Cass plays Excel today.