Chattooga Tennis Teams Wins One, Loses One During Week

By DARRIN SMITH
Sportswriter
The Chattooga tennis team played two matches this week with very different results. First, they hosted Model on Monday and didn’t fare well on the day with the girls falling 1-4 and the boys going down with the same score.
For the girls the lone win came from second doubles, Chasity Evans and Emily DeBerry who won easily 6-0, 6-1. For the boys the highlight came from first doubles, Dakota Finster and Cole Cavin, who cruised to the win 6-2, 6-1. The Indians first singles, Hamilton Ratliff, had the toughest assignment of the day when faced off against arguably the region’s best player, Parker Stone. Although Ratliff lost, he did make some noise doing something no player has done all season; he won a game going 2-6, 0-6. It was Stone’s first blemish of the season and visibly frustrated the outstanding player.
On Tuesday, the Indians hosted Dade and had a great day on the courts against the Wolverines. The girls won 3-2, and the boys team ruled the day with a 5-0 victory. Winners for the girls were second singles Jessica Brown (6-4, 6-2), third singles Chasity Evans (6-2, 3-6, 10-8), and first doubles, Gracie Nixon and Lexi Kerley (6-3, 6-2). Winners for the boys were first singles Hamilton Ratliff (6-1, 6-0), second singles J.J. Roberts (6-3, 2-6, 10-8), third singles Troy Christopher (7-6, 10-4), first doubles Dakota Finster and Cole Cavin (6-4, 6-0) and second doubles Gray Beach and Collin Drawdy (6-4, 7-6).
“I am so proud of these players,” Coach Stephanie Ratliff told The News after the Dade match. “Everyone played well and the effort was amazing tonight. We had several close matches and our team battled hard to get the win despite tough matches along the way. We played solid tennis all the way through both lineups. With all the rain we have had lately it’s made it a tough start to the season, but we have worked hard to be ready when the weather finally cooperated. This team has practiced every day despite the weather. When it was too wet to get on the courts, we have been conditioning and drilling in the War Lodge. It was a lot of fun today watching all that hard work pay off for them.”