TENNIS: West Laurens moves on; Dublin, East Laurens fall in first round of GHSA playoffs

West Laurens’ region champion tennis teams swept their first-round foes last week to advance in the GHSA state playoffs, while the county’s three remaining postseason qualifiers each fell as they opened the tournament on the road. 

The Raiders won their back-to-back matches Wednesday, the boys 5-0 over Dougherty and girls 4-1 against West Hall. 

East Laurens’ girls traveled to Rome to play Armuchee on Tuesday, and were defeated 5-0. The Falcon boys lost at Swainsboro 3-0 on Wednesday. Dublin’s boys were shut out 3-0 at Fannin County. 

West’s squads will be back on their home courts for second rounders this week, the boys on Tuesday as they welcome Spalding and the girls Wednesday in a rematch with region 4-AAA rival Richmond Academy. 

The Lady Raiders (16-8, 10-0 region) won all but their first singles match in Wednesday’s opener, with West Hall’s Lindsy Joseph edging Brook Collins 6-3 and 6-4 for the visitors’ only break point. 

The No. 2 singles match also got a little tight, but was straightforward for Elynn Alligood after a tiebreak win to claim the first set 7-6. She cruised 6-1 in the second to complete the victory over E.C. Kohler. 

It was all Augusta Rodgers on the third line, as she won straight sets 6-2 and 6-3 against Alise Gendreau. 

Both doubles matches went as smoothly, with Anna O’Neal and Hannah Wells taking care of Alivia Gravitt and Annayi Lopez 6-0 and 6-2, and Laney Shields and Jaelynn Walker winning both sets 6-1 and 6-2 over Isabella Ramos and Maria Rosales Alviarez. 

The West Laurens boys (16-8, 10-0 region 4-AAA) faced little pressure in any of their five matches. Charlie Barfield played No. 1 singles and defeated Javien Butts 6-1, 6-1. Cam Spires swept Coleman Hill 6-0, 6-3. It was 12-up, 12-down for Bryce Payne against Eric Willis on the third singles court. 

In doubles, Cullen Christian and Aiden Payne took straight sets by 6-1 scores against Daiveon Davis and Trevon Williams. Matthew Gibbs and Jax Crawford topped Garrison Sanders and Brealan Jackson 6-0 and 6-1. 

Little went the way of the Dublin boys Thursday in Blue Ridge, though the trip – which included a stop to hike to the top of Amicalola Falls earlier in the day – was a memorable experience as the Irish took some time to enjoy the scenery. 

Both East Laurens matches were likewise fairly one-sided affairs, but Falcons head coach Phillip Fowler said he’s optimistic about what’s ahead for both his squads, which – in the absence of any graduating senior players – will return fully intact with a chance to improve next spring.

“We did not make it beyond the first round, but our whole team is underclassmen,” he said. “They really began to buy into the work we were doing as a program, they all made good progress, and many of them plan to practice and play in the offseason.”