Sisters power Brookstone, Columbus tennis teams into state finals
The Brookstone and Columbus girls tennis teams will be counting on their “sister acts” to take home state titles on Saturday.
Brookstone is anchored by one pair of sisters, Rachel and Gracie Hemmings, while Columbus has two, the Courvilles, Mary Weston and Abby, and the Borens, Madelyn and Caroline.
Brookstone’s opponent Saturday is a familiar foe, Stratford Academy of Macon, the team the Lady Cougars beat in the Area 1 championship.
Columbus High will face Kell for the opportunity to win the program’s first state championship for the Blue Devils. Columbus did not face Kell during the regular season, but the team they defeated in the semifinals, Cambridge, defeated Kell 5-0 in a dual match.
Both championship matches will take place at the Clayton County International Park in Jonesboro. Brookstone’s match will start around 9 a.m., while Columbus will likely not start until after noon.
Both Columbus coach MikelAnna Hill and Brookstone coach Mary Lynne Cumiskey agree that the siblings have been a great asset to their 2016 success.
For Brookstone, freshman Gracie Hemmings holds down the No. 1 spot at singles, while senior Rachel plays at No. 3.
“She is a real competitor and gives it her all. She wants to win every match,” Cumiskey said of Gracie.
“The sisters have two different personalities. Gracie is more demonstrative, while Rachel likes to work it out on the court. Rachel has played for me for four years starting as a doubles player and moving to No. 3 singles. She (Rachel) is focused this year and … wants Brookstone to go out as state champions after being the runner-up last year.”
For Columbus, freshman Mary Weston Courville plays No. 1 singles, while senior Abby plays No. 1 doubles. Abby’s partner is Madelyn Boren, the senior while sophomore Caroline Boren plays No. 3 singles.
“Mary Weston is a great competitor and has been huge for us. Her record right now is 23-1 going into the championship,” Columbus coach MikelAnna Hill said. “She has led the team as a freshman.”
“We knew we had talent across the board but having talent does not mean everything. This team has come together and showed the grit and determination throughout the lineup and that is the reason the team is now 24-0 on the year.”
Brookstone is 17-2 on the season and one of those losses was to Columbus in a very competitive dual match earlier this year. The two freshmen, Gracie and Mary Weston battled it out and Gracie won, Courville’s only loss of the regular season.
Brookstone has won 10 state championships, the last one coming in 2009.
Columbus is making just its second trip to the state finals. The Lady Blue Devils lost to Starr’s Mill two years ago.
This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Sisters power Brookstone, Columbus tennis teams into state finals."