Sports

Down to four

• Deerfield-Windsor’s doubles team of Taylor Hawke an Haley Fulford try for back-to-back titles today, while their teammates Kelly Hoopes and Sarah Kitchen try to make it an all-DWS final.

Derek Barichello

TIFTON — And then there were four.

Due to problems with the facilities at Abraham Baldwin College last Tuesday, the GISA Individuals State AAA Tournament final four has been moved to today, with two Deerfield-Windsor girls doubles teams and a Southland boys duo still alive vying for state titles.

Of those three, defending state champion Haley Fulford and Taylor Hawke of Deerfield-Windsor are clear favorites to win the girls bracket, while their teammates Kelly Hoopes and Sarah Kitchen are on the other side of the racket with a chance to meet in the state championship match.

Additionally, Southland's Tripp Parker and Justin Davis in the boys bracket advanced to their first semifinals and will try to get their first taste of a title — all making for a good chance of at least one state title to come back to Southwest Georgia.

"It's always great when you have teams that are able to get this far, especially when you have two," said DWS coach Meredith Gruhl, whose Deerfield girls have won back-to-back team state championships and will try for a third consecutive on April 30 in Augusta. "It says a lot about our program and we're definitely proud."

Fulford and Hawke have every reason to believe they can bring home another championship.

Not only have they done it before but they have defeated each of the three remaining girls teams in the bracket at some point during the season.

They've also not dropped a single set and lost only two games in their two wins during the region tournament.

Their streak will be on the line when they face the Region 2-runner-up Stratford sister combo of Lindsey and Holly Stephens with a championship bid on the line.

"I'm not too nervous," Fulford said as she tries to capture her second individual title, while her doubles partner Hawke has won five total — three team, two individual. "I'm not over confident either. We just know we have to stay focused and we'll be fine."

Meanwhile, Fulford and Hawke's teammates Hoopes and Kitchen are hoping to make it an all-Deerfield final coming from the other side of the bracket.

Last year, Hoopes and Kitchen lost in the first round. With that experience fresh in their minds during this spring, they have won a pair of hard fought two-set matches to earn their first trip to the semifinals.

They will face their greatest challenge yet against Region 2-winner and sisters Kristen and Julie Allen from FPD in their semifinal match.

"We've been able to play our best so far," Hoopes said. "Last year, we just fell apart. If we keep playing our best and staying focused, we have a chance. I just know our second-round match was really tough and this one will be a lot tougher."

If Hoopes and Kitchen win, Gruhl's hope of an all-Deerfield final will come to fruition.

"Then either way, we can have an outcome we can be happy with," Gruhl said of what would be a rematch of the Region 3 championship in which Fulford and Hawke won in two sets. "When our teammates play, I just sit back and watch. I don't play any favorites."

As for Southland's boys team of Parker and Davis, they are in the same situation as DWS's Hoopes and Kitchen.

This is their first semifinals berth and keeping their composure will be one of the keys to getting to the championship, something that they were not able to do when they suffered an early exit in the second round last year.

"My feeling in the past is that this group has been a little tight and apprehensive," Southland boys and girls coach Jimmy Thaxton said. "But they've been tougher this time."

Parker and Davis' showed that toughness in their second match.

The Southland team lost the first set ,6-4, before rallying back to win the next two 6-1, 6-2 and earn their first trip to the semifinals.

Thaxton's hope is that Parker and Davis have it figured out as they play Region 4-winners Robert Yu and Ajay Sethi from Augusta Prep.

"They have a quiet confidence," Thaxton said. "This year, I think they're ready."

TOUGH EXIT

It was a tough way to go for Deerfield-Windsor's No. 1 and Region 3-champion Sonya Belakhlef. After winning her first set in the second round, she dropped consecutive sets. Along with Belakhlef, singles teammate Sarah Schatz, along with Southland's Mollie McGowan and Rachel Rye were all eliminated in the first round.

In the boys tournament, Southland's No. 1 Chris Bird, who was the back-to-back Region 3 winner, lost in the first round in two sets. His teammate Brandon Vann, along with Region 3 runner-up and DWS' Chris Nobles and Tyler Mason were all eliminated in round one.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Aside from the three Region 3 doubles teams in the semifinals, DWS' Tommy Forrestal and Graham Davis were the only doubles team to record a victory. They won their first match, then were eliminated in Round 2.

Back to today's Sports>>