Collegedale Boys' Soccer Team: Co-Captains - Michael Chung and Boston Londis, Brandon Babbitt, Stephan Collins, Aaron Dimmer, Shawn Kim, Austin Lee, Quincy Magee, Daltry Martin, Hunter McKee, Conner O'Brien, Jeff Paik, Seth Ruhling, Michal Sintak, Ivan Snyder. Coach - Joseph Chung.
For a decade the Collegedale Academy tennis program had no home court and no region or sectional championships.
But all that has changed this season.
Friday afternoon, the Eagles defeated Chattanooga Christian, 4-1, to win an A-AA sectional title and earn the school’s first trip to the state tournament in any sport.
“There has been good chemistry on the team since the start of the season which has been a key to out success this year,” said coach Joe Chung.
The Eagles will represent Region 2/3 at the BlueCross Spring Fling XIX state tournament and face Huntington High School Tuesday at noon EDT at Old Fort Park in Murfreesboro.
The Eagles earned the state tournament berth the hard way winning the region and sectional titles on the road.
Collegedale (16-3) defeated defending Region 3 champion Chattanooga Arts and Sciences at Warner Park last week for the Patriots first home loss since 2010 and then won the Sectional 2 title Friday at CCS.
A key factor in the team’s success this season has been the new six court complex on campus.
The school received a lead gift in 2010 and broke ground on the tennis complex that fall.
“To be able to practice and play home matches on campus for our middle school and high school teams has been a big part of our winning season,” said Chung.
"CCS had a good year, but some injuries and other factors changed out lineup from the start of the season," said CCS coach Renato Mizutano.
Four New Faces: The Boys A-AA state final four has a new look this year as two-time defending champion Christian Academy of Knoxville and state runner-up Madison were both beaten in sectional finals. The other two final four teams from 2011 - CSAS and Cheatham County - also did not make a return trip to the state.
Unicoi County defeated two-time defending state champ CAK, while Huntington stopped Madison Academic. Collegedale defeated CSAS in the Region 3 final and Cheathem County did not make it out of district play.
Turn the Tables: Unicoi County had lost to CAK in the sectional final in 2011, while for Huntington, it's "the third time is the charm" having lost to Madison Academic in the sectional final in 2011 and 2010.
Road Warriors: This year's final four teams all won on the road this week to earn a spot at BlueCross Spring Fling XIX.
State Semis: Tuesday Noon EDT - Collegedale Academy vs. Huntington and Unicoi County vs. Christ Presbyterian
A Bright Spot in a Tough Year: The boys’ tennis success has been a positive story for the Collegedale Academy student body who suffered the loss of sophomore class president Chakamboka Chama who died in a drowning accident in April.
Chama rescued classmate Justin Moore in Harrison Bay on April 14, but then was not able to make it to shore himself and drowned.
Boys A-AA Sectional 2
Collegedale 4, Chattanooga Christian 1
Doubles
Ian Cooper/Tim Payne (CCS) def. Mike Sintek/Hunter McKee, 8-4
Boston Londis/Michael Chung (Collegedale) def. Stewart Fellers/Will French, 8-4
Singles
Stewart Fellers (CCS) and Mike Sintek (Collegedale) did not finish
Connor O’Brien (Collegedale) and Ian Cooper (CCS) did not finish
Boston Londis (Collegedale) def. Tim Payne, 6-2, 6-3
Michael Chung (Collegdale) def. Will French, 6-0, 6-2
Austin Lee (Collegedale) def. Nick Baxendell, 6-2,6-2
Records: Collegedale (16-3), CCS (12-2)
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net