Tennis girls advance to state finals

Jeff Davis High School’s Lady Jacket tennis team defeated Brantley County 3-0 last Friday to advance to the finals of the 2023 Georgia High School Association Class AA State Tournament.
The championship round is an all-Region 1-AA finals as the Lady Jackets will face fellow Region 1-AA member Berrien High School. When the Lady Jackets and the Lady Rebels faced off in the region tournament finals in April, Jeff Davis pulled out a narrow 3-2 victory. So the state finals matchup should be a close one.
In last week’s State Semifinals, the Lady Jackets defeated the Herons 3-0 to go to the final round of the state playoffs. Cori Mims at No 2 singles and the doubles team of Presley Cox and Ava Coleman made short work of their opponents and the Lady Jackets were quickly up 2-0.
Lexi Girtman playing No. 1 singles and Demi Rush at No. 3 singles were involved in long matches, especially in Girtman’s match. Girtman and her Heron opponent had long volleys as both players showed patience throughout the match. Girtman won her first set and was involved in the second set when the match came to an end. Rush lost her first set but rebounded to take her second set, and was leading in the third set, when the No. 1 doubles team of Noel Munoz and Aleah Parker won the third set of their match to pull out the win late in the set to give Jeff Davis the 3-0 win.
Coach Mary Katherine Brown stated, “This is a first in my 10 years coaching here at JD and is a first as far back as I can remember for any Jeff Davis Tennis Team to make it to the state championship. The girls were on their A game. They are playing some ‘terribly good tennis’ as my old coach Elliott Carter used to say. I am excited to see what the state championship holds for us. We are playing the Berrien Rebels who are in our region. They are a really good team, and we certainly will have to continue to fight to get the title.” The Lady Jackets head to Rome to play this Saturday morning.
On May 1, Jeff Davis High School varsity boys played Mt. Paran in Kennesaw.
The Yellow Jackets fought hard but fell short against Mt. Paran 0-3. The final two matches were pulled after the loss.
Coach Brown stated, “Our guys played really hard, and they had a great season. We were outmatched in this game, and they fought hard. Our seniors went through the COVID shutdown year in 2020, made a Sweet 16 run in 2021, an Elite 8 run in 2022, and another Elite 8 run in 2023 as seniors. They have so much to be proud of, and I am incredibly proud of these young men.”