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The LaGrange girls tennis team continues to prove the doubters wrong, punching their ticket to the Final 4 on Thursday with a dominant 3-0 win over Jefferson.

“This is such a happy feeling,” doubles player Ava Wallace said. “We are excited to keep going and playing together as a team.”

It was a complete showing for the entire Granger squad. After getting overlooked in the early stages of the season, LaGrange has now won six matches in a row, including the Region 3-2A championship. 

“Most people weren’t even talking about us or even tennis in general, but now you can see how many people are coming out to our matches,” Wallace said. “I don’t think people realized how good we are.”

“I even had teachers I’ve never even had before come up to me in the hallways and tell me congratulations this week,” senior Ana Rollings added. 

Despite coming into this match with a wealth of experience from this season, there were still nerves jangling heading into the match.

“I was pretty nervous, I can’t lie,” doubles player Elly Sanchez said. “I just tried to stay focused and stay excited.”

This is the first trip to Rome for the Grangers since they finished as the 4A runner-up in 2022. Just one member of that team remains, Rollings, the team’s no. 1 singles player. She was not even a member of the lineup in 2022 and did not make the trip to Rome. She is looking to carve out her own slice of history with this year’s team.

“I didn’t even go because I had a final and I wasn’t a part of the lineup,” Rollings said, reminiscing. “I still had so much to learn about tennis back then and now I’m going to Rome as the no. 1 singles player. It’s hard to believe.”

The bond the team shares this year has helped fuel them to this moment. The team is much more than just a squad of individuals; it’s a family and that is apparent at every match day, whether it’s regular season or playoffs.

The team was in pure jubilation after the victory, storming Wallace and Kelly on the court, who secured the winning line for the Grangers.

 

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

No. 1 Singles: Ana Rollings (LG) vs. Emma Coulter (J) pulled with LaGrange winning first set 6 – 4, and Jefferson leading in the second set 2 – 1.

No. 2 Singles: Anna Claire Lumpkin (LG) vs. Isobel Summerour (J) pulled with Jefferson winning the first set 7 – 6 (7 – 3), and LaGrange leading in the second set 1 – 0

No. 3 Singles: Dana Song (LG) defeated Josie Fuller (J) 6 – 1, 6 – 4

No. 1 Doubles: Ava Wallace and Elly Sanchez (LG) defeated Natalie Morrow and Ryleigh Bunch (J) 6 – 3, 6 – 4

No. 2 Doubles: Madi Del Angel and Addison Adams (LG) defeated E.C. Nelson and Anna Williams (J) 6 – 3, 6 – 1

WHAT’S NEXT: 

LaGrange will travel to Rome for the Final Four on May 10, where it will face either West Laurens or Oconee County. The semifinals will be played in the morning, and the state championship will be held in the afternoon. 

The Grangers have finished as state runner-ups twice, but have never captured a state championship.