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The LaGrange Academy Warrior tennis team was impressive at the individual region tournament on Tuesday.

The Warriors are led by star German transfer student Tim Kuebel, who won the boys single region tournament. Kuebel has been playing tennis for 10 years and brought his talents to LaGrange for his junior year.

“He’s a phenomenal tennis player,” head tennis coach Ken Klinger said. “The first day off the plane he was asking me about the tennis team. We went out and played tennis on his first day here because I couldn’t even hit off him he was so good.”

Kuebel only plays club tennis in Germany as they do not have a school tennis team.

“It’s an amazing feeling to walk off the court and know that you are a region champion,” Kuebel said. “Without the support of my team I would have had a much harder time.”

Kuebel was not the only Warrior who showed out in the singles competition. Prem Kamat and Chase Whitlow dueled it out in the third-place match with Kamat coming out on top.

“As someone who has been a part of the team since eighth grade, the growth that I’ve seen in our team has increased tremendously,” Whitlow said.

Boys double saw the Warriors take home the region tournament title as well. Sophomore Jackson Malone and junior Sam Anderson earned the victory. They fell to Oak Mountain in the regular season but got revenge in the tournament.

“Barely losing to them in the regular season showed Jackson and I that we could compete with a little more practice,” Anderson said. “The hard work and dedication put forth after that day was what did it for us.”

Two eighth graders, Martin Zachary and Alex Jarvhol finished third place in the boys doubles tournament. This is a great achievement for them and will give them something to build off of heading into the next four years.

The Warriors had only one girl on the team, eighth grader Charlie Scarborough. She showed her moxie with a second-place finish in the girl’s singles against girls older than herself.

“I can’t even emphasize how much better she got during the whole year,” Klinger said. “She only won one regular season match and ended up in the championship game and lost in the third set after winning the first one and losing the second losing to a senior.”

The tennis program at LaGrange Academy has grown tremendously since Klinger took over four years ago.

“We talk about a Warrior mindset, which means to come to practice every day ready to work and get better,” Klinger said. “Each day, we came in with enthusiasm and hard work and the discipline to do the right thing the right way all the time.”