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The no. 1 seeded LaGrange boys tennis team is still on the hunt for a state title. The Grangers topped Hephzibah 4-1 at home on Thursday to clinch a spot in Rome for the Final Four.

The Grangers came into this season with high expectations. With a move from 4A down to 3A, the team felt confident this was the year to make a run at a state championship.

“When we found out that we were dropping down to 3A, we knew we had to make a run this year or next year,” senior Noah Black said. “The rest of the team had another year, but I only got one.”

LaGrange fell in dramatic fashion in the 4A state quarterfinals a season ago. That loss has fueled the team this campaign.

“We really shouldn’t have lost that match and it’s been eating at me for a while now,” Black said. “It feels great to overcome that hurdle.”

LaGrange has breezed through the opening two rounds, using backups in the starting lineup. That changed on Thursday as a higher level of competition came to town. The Grangers were made to work for it against Hephzibah, which made the final victory even sweeter.

“This was way more exciting, but there is also a little more pressure too,” doubles player Jaehan Seol said. “Once you make it this far, everything is on the line and you can feel it.”

The doubles pairings of Sehun Seol and Brody Douhne and Noah Black and Jaehan Seol led the way on Thursday. Each duo blew the opponents off the court and gave LaGrange an early 2-0 lead.

“This is our first year playing together and we have come a long way since we first got together,” Douhne said. “It’s been a really good season together.”

“I feel like we’ve grown so much together this year,” Sehun Seol said.

The team needed just one singles player to come through for the team to secure the win after the doubles teams cruised past their opponents. Freshman Alex Lee ended up doing the honors as he comfortably defeated his opponent to send the Grangers into the next round.

“I started to look over at the fans around my court and I started to feel the pressure, but I just kept focused on my game,” Lee said. 

BOYS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

No. 1 Singles: Flavius Henderson (H) defeated Ethan Black (LG) 6 – 1, 6 – 3

No. 2 Singles: Brayden Lamb (LG) defeated Bryson Kennedy (H) 4 – 6, 6 – 2, (12 – 10)

No. 3 Singles: Alex Lee (LG) defeated Josiah Joseph (H) 6 – 1, 6 – 2

No. 1 Doubles: Noah Black and Jaehan Seol (LG) defeated Dennis Cook and Warren Aaron

(H) 6 – 1, 6 – 0

No. 2 Doubles: Sehun Seol and Brody Douhne (LG) defeated Michael Thomas and Caleb

Conner (H) 6 – 0, 6 – 0

 

WHAT’S NEXT:

LaGrange will play either West Laurens or Cherokee Bluff in Rome on May 10. The semifinal match will start in the morning, and if the Grangers make it to the championship match, they will be playing again that afternoon.

This year’s Granger team is not just content with a trip to Rome; they want to win the whole thing, and they feel like they are perfectly poised to do so.

“It has been kind of an unspoken thing this season, but we all know what the goal is,” Black said.