Columbus girls tennis rallies to down Cambridge in state semifinals

The Columbus girls tennis team is headed back to the state championships.

The Lady Blue Devils rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Cambridge 3-2 on Tuesday afternoon in the Class 5A semifinals in Milton, Ga.

“This was a match we were not supposed to win, but the heart, the grit and the heart of this team pulled us through,” Columbus coach MikelAnna Hill said.

“This team is just special. I can’t wait to see what else they can do.”

Cambridge’s Hanna Giddings beat Maddison Abell 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles for the first point of the match. Allison Larson and Ann Spurka won at No. 1 doubles over Madelyn Boren and Abby Courville 6-1, 6-2.

Then Columbus started its comeback.

Caroline Boren won at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-3 over Paige DeLaPierre, and Mary Weston Courville won at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-4 over Aimee Dervishian.

Columbus’ hopes came down to the No. 2 doubles team of Nicole Gordon and Elizabeth Steelmon. They dropped the first set to Emma Holmes and Shelley Larson but rallied back to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“They came back with incredible tennis,” Hill said.

Columbus will face Kell in the finals on Saturday at Clayton County International Park in Jonesboro.

Columbus made its first trip to the finals two years ago when it lost to Starr’s Mill.

This story was originally published May 3, 2016 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Columbus girls tennis rallies to down Cambridge in state semifinals."