Brookstone girls win tennis championship

By Robert Spruck - Staff Writer --

JONESBORO, Ga. — So often this season, Brookstone's Elizabeth McClung had made quick work of her opponent.

The Brookstone senior appeared headed for another quick match as she jumped out to a 4-1 lead against Athens Academy's Emily Dong in her No. 3 singles match.

But Dong rallied to win the opening set 7-5. After winning the second set, McClung found herself in another unfamiliar position in the third set: She trailed 3-0.

McClung didn't panic. Rather she won the next five games en route to a 6-5 decision in the set. That led to her overall win, which proved to be the clincher for the Lady Cougars, who beat Athens Academy 3-0 in the Class A state finals on Friday afternoon at Clayton County International Park in Jonesboro.

“I just had to pull it through,” McClung said. “I had worked too hard to get to this point. It wasn't good enough to just get to the third set and lose 6-0.”

For McClung, it was the third state championship during her high school career. Brookstone won its ninth girls tennis state championship and the fourth one in five years.

“I really can't even explain it,” Brookstone coach Mary Lynne Cumiskey said. “I told them before we played that for us to win we were going to have to play our best tennis. We did just that.”

For about the first two hours of the two-and-a-half hour match, the outcome was in doubt. Katherine White was able to win in straight sets, beating Margaret Boyette, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Blake Bowden and Mary Bailey Wickham rallied from a first-set deficit to win 7-3 in the tiebreaker. They won 6-4 in the second set at No. 1 doubles.

“Our No. 1 doubles really came through for us,” Cumiskey said. “We haven't had a lot of success in doubles lately. But they are my two little fighters. They never gave up and kept playing.”

Alex Snipes lost the first set before winning the second in No. 2 singles, while Blair Prescott and Virginia Straus won the first set and lost the second. None of them played the third set as Brookstone had secured its second straight state championship.

After quickly falling behind in the third set, McClung began to build momentum. She held serve and then broke Dong, cutting the lead to 3-2. Following a pep talk from Cumiskey, McClung did it again.

“She told me to keep fighting and to play smart,” McClung said. “She told me to be consistent.”

McClung heeded the advice and gave the Brookstone faithful a reason to celebrate.

“When she fell behind 3-0, I was a little worried,” Cumiskey said. “But when she tied it up 3-3, I knew that she was going to win.”

The final result was much different then the regular-season meeting when the Cougars lost 5-0 to Athens Academy in the Buckhead Invitational. The Cougars were without White in the first meeting.

Brookstone cruised to a victory in the semifinals as it knocked off Providence Christian 3-0. The Cougars won all three singles matches before the doubles matches were pulled.

White knocked off Heather Heusel 6-4, 6-2 in No. 1 singles. Snipes won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 singles, and McClung won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.

 

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