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The LaGrange girls tennis team poured their heart and soul out onto the court on Monday, earning a 3-2 win over Cherokee Bluff to advance to the Elite Eight of the 3A state playoffs. 

The match came down to the wire with the lineup sitting at 2-2 and no. 2 singles player Anna Claire Lumpkin heading to a third-set tiebreak. The spectators and teams congregated to the court where she was dueling London McDaniel, with a spot in the state quarterfinals on the line.

“It was kind of nerve-racking because we don’t usually have that many people come out to our matches, usually it’s just the 10 boys and the 10 girls and a few parents,” an exhausted Lumpkin said. “It was kind of stressful out there.”

Lumpkin was the picture of poise and confidence after stumbling through the opening set. She led 4-1 in the first set, but ended up losing 6-4. Lumpkin won the following two sets 6-3, 6-3, in front of a packed house at McCluskey Tennis Center. 

“By the end of it, my body was really starting to give out, so I had to make sure I kept my head in there,” she said. 

Lumpkin’s teammates stormed the court to celebrate their junior after the conclusion of her match.

“I was really nervous, not as nervous as her though,” doubles player Addison Adams said as the team shared a laugh.

While tennis is in large part an individual sport, Lumpkin could not do it without her teammates. Dana Song, the team’s no. 3 singles player put on an absolute clinic, winning her match in straight sets (6-2, 6-2). 

“She was a really good player, but I felt like my ball placement was really, really good today,” Song said. 

Song found her groove early and never gave an inch to her opponent.

“First set, I was really focused, but then I started looking over at the other scores and started to get a little nervous,” Song said. “I knew they had what it would take to come back and just stayed focused on my match.” 

The Granger pairing of Madi Del Angel and Adams at the no. 2 doubles spot proved to be too much for Cherokee Bluff. The duo had an up-and-down first set, winning 7-5, before finding their groove in the second set and winning with ease (6-0).

“We were all over the place at first, but then I feel like we just got in a good rhythm and groove and put a smile on our faces and had fun,” Del Angel said.

“Once we get in the right mindset and rhythm, we are good to go,” Addams added. “Sometimes one of us has to say something to the other and then we lock in.”

Lumpkin was not the only player of the LaGrange team who went to a third-set tiebreak. Ava Wallace and Eloy Sanchez fell in the first set 6-1 before rallying in the second (6-2) to force a third set. The Granger duo ultimately fell 6-0 in the third set, but the pair helped give Lumpkin the confidence she needed to seal the deal. 

“When I was at the toughest part of my second set, I looked over and they were playing their third set, and I knew that they could end up winning the match for us, and it took a lot of the pressure off me,” Lumpkin said. 

LaGrange’s no. 1 singles player, Ana Rollings, fell 6-0, 6-1. Even though she could not find a rhythm on Monday, the Grangers will need the senior if they are to make a run at the state championship. 

LaGrange will host Jefferson on Thursday at 1 p.m., with a trip to Rome for the Final Four on the line.