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History was made in Rome on Saturday. The LaGrange High boys tennis program, founded in 1938, won its first-ever state championship with a 3-1 win over Calhoun in the GHSA 3A State Championship.

“This is indescribable,” said a beaming David Traylor, an assistant coach with the program for over 20 years. “This is so special.”

This has been a long time coming for the LaGrange tennis program. The boys and girls have combined to finish state runner-up three times and have had countless Final 4 appearances. The Granger tennis program has finally reached the mountain top.

“This is pretty darn cool,” LaGrange head coach Kent Moore said. “This group of guys is so special. They came out from day one and wanted to get better, and to their credit, they did just that.”

Nobody has given more to the LaGrange tennis program over the years than Moore. After 35 years at the helm and over 1,000 wins, Moore has himself a state championship in tennis.

This was not the Saturday either team was expecting, however. LaGrange was originally set to host the state championship at 9:30 a.m. inclement weather ruined any chance of that, and the two schools and their respective athletic programs worked to find a solution.

The two teams settled on the Rome Tennis Center, which provided its fair share of heartbreak for the Granger players, who envisioned playing and winning a state championship in front of a big home crowd.

“I think all of us were pretty mad and upset at first,” doubles player Brody Douhne said. “The second we got on the bus, we locked in. None of that other stuff mattered outside of winning a state championship.”

After the disappointment of the morning, the Grangers locked in and refocused. 

“The guys were deflated and really disappointed this morning,” Moore said. “We just had to tell them that it doesn’t matter where we play. We have to focus and play well, and they came out here and delivered.”

“I think what really refocused them was how much they trust Coach Moore,” Traylor added. “They trusted that he would do what was best for the team.”

This run to the state championship was not a surprise for the Grangers. The team came into the season as the favorite to win it all and was ranked No. 1 in the state in 3A for the majority of the season. Being the favorite and proving it are two completely different things, and the Grangers proved their mettle on Saturday.

“I knew coming into the season that we had a great chance to win state, but we knew that it wouldn’t be easy, and it definitely wasn’t easy today,” singles player Alex Lee said. 

 

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

#1 Singles:  Ethan Black (LG) defeated Kirk Wallin (CH) 6 – 3, 6 – 3

#2 Singles: Walker Hurd (CH) defeated Brayden Lamb(LG) 6 – 0, 6 – 4

#3 Singles: Alex Lee (LG) defeated Max Ford (CH) 7 – 5, 6 – 3

#1 Doubles: Noah Black and Jaehan Seol (LG) defeated EJ Gallman and Michael Engel (CH) 6 – 2, 6 – 3

#2 Doubles: Sehun Seol and Brody Douhne (LG) pulled while leading Colton Shelton and Noah Schutz (CH) 3-1 in the second set after winning the first set 7-6 (7-5)

 

Noah Black and Jaehan Seol put down a marker of intent early. The pair won an intense match to get the Grangers off to a 1-0 start.

“We were a little upset this morning, but we got our minds right and came here and showed out today,” Seol said. 

Lamb would fall shortly thereafter, putting up a fight in the second set, but unable to come away with it to extend the match.

Ethan Black, the younger brother of Noah, then put LaGrange back out in front by beating Calhoun’s No. 1 singles player. 

“I can’t say enough good things about Ethan,” Moore said. “He’s had his fair share of ups and downs this season. It’s tough being the No. 1 singles player at LaGrange High School. We played a tough schedule, and he has to play the opponent’s best player match after match, and that can be exhausting after a long season. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Ethan responded in a big way after feeling disappointed in himself for falling short in his match in the Final 4.

“My last couple of matches weren’t my best. My mindset wasn’t right for those matches, but I came into today’s match feeling loose,” Ethan said. 

After Ethan earned the win, it was just a matter of time before LaGrange sealed the championship victory. With just Lee and the pairing of Douhne and Sehun Seol left on the courts, the Grangers needed just one of those lineups to come through. Lee would get the job done first, winning the match, and getting swarmed by his teammates and coaches afterwards.

“I didn’t know what was going on at first, but once I realized we won, I was very proud of myself,” Lee said with a chuckle. “It was a very tough match, but I was able to stay consistent and come out on top.”

They say that one of the only things better than winning a championship is winning back-to-back. With the confidence of being state champions fueling them, the Grangers are already setting their sights on the future.

“We are trying to go back-to-back now,” Sehun said, grinning.