Undefeated St. Mary's Tennis Team: The 2014 edition of "Turkey Tennis" hopes to bring home a seventh state title this week.
photo by St. Mary's
As three girls teams - Baylor (D-II AA), Knox. Webb (D-II
A) and Ravenwood (D-I AAA) - are favored
to repeat as champions this week and as girls’ tennis celebrates its 50th anniversary
state tournament, let’s look at a few of the great teams for half a century.
St. Mary’s (72-3) … won five straight championships,
1988-92, and gets the nod as the best with six players having national junior
accolades and then played at top level D-I programs ... More on the Turkeys
(yep, that’s the school nickname) later … Note: the 2014 St, Mary’s team (8-0)
is in the semis in D-II A vs. St. Cecilia
* 2014 Baylor Team (12-1 in 2014) … D-II AA state champs, 2011-2013 … four
seniors – Samantha Caswell, Harper Caswell, Maggie Crumbliss and Morgan McCall
- have led the Red Raiders to an impressive 64-4 record the last five years …
three straight D-II AA state crowns (2011-12-13), three DecoTurf national
tournament championships (2011-2012-2013) and four Chattanooga Rotary titles
(2011-12-13-14) …
Samantha Caswell has signed scholarship papers with
UTC, twin sister Harper is a preferred walk-on at Furman and Crumbliss will
play at Sewanee.
“This Baylor team not only won three straight state
titles in Tennessee, but has gone to the DecoTurf tournament in Kentucky and
posted wins against state champs from Florida and Georgia among others which I
believe sets them apart,” said Baylor assistant coach Park Lockrow.
* 2014 Ravenwood Team (10-0 in 2014) … D-I AAA state
champs, 2010-2013 …. Raptors are going for their fifth straight title … 5-year
win-loss record of 88-6 … current senior Katie Fitt is headed to BYU in the
fall … Ravenwood team alums
include Lauren Cabellero, a Samford junior and Jacquline Curtsinger, a freshman
at Rensselaer … team GPA in 2013 was 4.09 … a fifth title will tie the Raptors
with St. Mary’s (1988-92)
* GPS (49-2) as
D-II AA state champs, 2006-07-08 … 3x state singles champ Claire
Bartlett (UVA/Florida) led the way … recent Wofford graduate Sarah Evans (2010
state singles champ) played No.1 for the Terriers and was on four GPS state
title teams.
2006 team had Bartlett and Evans along with Grace
Robinette (UTC), Courtney Pare and Margaret Brock … Bruisers edged two-time
defending champion Knox Webb, 4-3, in a thrilling, six hour match that went
from outdoors to indoors and finished past midnight … Evans, Pare and Brock
were all 8th graders on that team and won their singles matches … Pare and
Brock clinched the title with a doubles win
* Knox. Webb … D-II AA state champs, 2002-04-05 … Whitney
Chappell (Auburn, 03 state singles champ and high school All-American) …
Berkeley Brock (N.C. State, won a record five state doubles crowns, 2002-06 …
Elizabeth Googe (Cornell, won four doubles titles with Brock, 2002-05) ... had good
battles with St. Agnes and GPS …
* Oak Ridge (38-4, 1996-1998) … state champs in 1997
(one division) and 1998 … lost in semis to Baylor in 1996 … led by 3x state singles
champ Megan Dunnigan (Furman, 4x Southern
Conference Player of the Year) … Dunnigan never lost a high school singles
match, including beating two-time state champ Lorraine Bittles (Brentwood
Academy) in the 1996 state semis when Dunnigan was a sophomore … Jill Buckley
(Kentucky, 1999 state singles champ) … team had good depth … the Ridgers beat
defending champion Baylor, 4-3, in 1997 state finals in last year with all
schools in one division … Chris Carpenter coached OR to a 38-4 record for three
years; 1996-98.
* First Champion ... David Lipscomb … 1964 & 1966 ... worth a look at the first team champion …
playing in a format where team points were earned with individual wins in
singles and doubles, the Lions won the inaugural title in 1964 and won it again
two years later … Lynne Gregory won the singles title in 1964 with a win
against Notre Dames Laura Dupont who would go on to be an All-American at North
Carolina and play on the pro tour … Lipscomb’s Mufit Ellis won state singles
and Nancy Boyce and Paula Hembrose won state doubles in 1966
* St. Mary’s (72-3) … state champs, 1988-1992 … the
current state team format was put in place in 1988.
The Turkeys were an impressive 72-3 in that five-year
run … losses were to Baylor to open the 1989 season, lost once in 1991 and once
in 1992 to Hutchison with four starters out … one way to measure the greatness
of a team is how the players did at the next level.
Six played at strong D-I teams … in 1996, one (Lisa
Pugliese) has a national championship ring (Florida) … another (Wendy Sacks) was
on the national runner-up team (Stanford) the same year … and yet another
(Meredith Chiles) played No.1 for the
No.10 team (Vandy) … all were eighth graders in 1988.
*Wendy Sacks Sklaver (1988-1992) … played No.6-7 at
Stanford as Cardinal was NCAA runner-up in 1996 to Fla ... National indoor
singles runner-up in 18s … ranked No.1 in the South and No.12 nationally in 18s
…. No.12 nationally in 14s singles … national runner-up in 14s doubles clay and
hard courts with St. Mary’s teammate Lisa Pugliese … won TSSAA state singles
and doubles titles … went to UT med school and is a doctor in Calif.
*Meredith Chiles (1998-92) … played No.1 (singles and
doubles) at Vandy on the 1996 team that was No.10 in the nation … Academic
All-SEC … TSSAA state singles and doubles (w/Sacks) champion … reached second
round NCAAs in singles and round of 16 in doubles in 1996 … ranked No. 25 in
singles and No.26 in doubles in 1996 … St. Mary’s grad Deena Raja played No.5-6
at Vandy with Meredith ... Junior Rankings: Top 20 nationally in 16s … lives in
North Carolina.
*Lisa Pugliese (1988) … played No.6 on the 1988 team
as an eighth grader then moved to Fla. … No.4 on U. of Fla. NCAA championship team (1996) … All-SEC
at No.4 singles, 1995-96 … also member of NCAA runner-up team in 1993-94 …
Junior rankings: 16s – No.1 in Fla … No.2
nationally … runner-up with Wendy Sacks at national doubles 14s clay
courts and national doubles 14s hardcourts … she and Sacks were top 5
nationally in 14s doubles.
*Taylor Holden Taylor (1988-90) … member of three St.
Mary’s championship teams … played Nos. 1-3 at Virginia … member of excellent
recruiting class of 1991 as Cavaliers were No. 22 in 1993 and No. 29 in 1992 … UVa
team MVP in 1992 … later would be head coach at U. of Memphis as well as St.
George’s and St. Mary’s … Junior Rankings: top 50 nationally in 14s …
nationally No.10 in 18s doubles with Audra Keller (Bartlett HS) who would later
win Girls national 18s singles and doubles and be top 80 in the world on the
pro tour … Taylor was consistently in top 30 (Southern) and top 100
(nationally) in singles … works for Racquet Club of Memphis.
*Elaina Fulgham (1988-89) … won her final high school
singles match which clinched the school’s second state title … she beat
Baylor’s Melissa Kadrie who had beaten Fulgham in the first match of the season
which Baylor won, 6-3… Played four years at Temple U. … All-tournament in Atlantic 10 in 1992.
*Deena Raja (1992) … played No. 2 singles behind
Wendy Sacks on St. Mary’s 1992 team … No.5-6 in singles and No.3 doubles for
Vandy’s 1996 team which was No.10 in the nation … college teammate of St.
Mary’s alum Meredith Chiles … Junior Rankings: Deena was top 8 (South) and top
50 (nationally) in 18s.
Far from a one era championship program, St. Mary’s
won it in 2001 when D-II had one division and this year’s team is undefeated
(8-0) with dreams of bringing home a seventh school tennis title.
St. Mary’s Five State Titles
1988 (16-0) … beat Baylor (4-1) in finals with three
eighth graders, a sophomore and a junior …
Eighth graders were Wendy Sacks, Meredith Chiles and
Lisa Pugliese … Taylor Holden was a sophomore and Elaina Fulgham (played No.1) was
a junior … Sacks (1991) and Chiles (1990) won state singles titles and a
doubles together in 1989 …
“When we returned to campus after winning that first
championship in Nashville, the school had a big assembly program for us and the
students cheered loudly as we had won the school’s first state championship in
any sport. It was a big deal and we were so excited that we had won it for a
small girls school in Memphis.” – Taylor Holden Taylor
1989 (14-1) …
lost to Baylor, 6-3, to start the season and then won 14 straight, including a
4-1 win against Baylor in the finals … Sacks played No.1 … and won state
doubles with Chiles …
1990 (14-0) … Sacks, Chiles and Holden played 1-2-3
while Melissa Goldate and Stacey Goldate joined the starting lineup at Nos. 4-5
… Chiles won state singles crown … first school to win three straight …
1991 – (15-1) … again, the Turkeys beat a previously
unbeaten Baylor team (12-1) in the semis … Sacks defeated Chiles in state
singles finals.
1992 – (13-1) … Sacks was a senior and joined by
Deena Raja at No.2 singles … won a fifth and final state title … 72-3 for five
years
Player Comments
Taylor Holden Taylor
"Since tennis is an individual sport it can be a very
lonely sport as you travel to various tournaments often times by yourself. I am
so glad to have been part of teams at St. Mary’s and Virginia to be able to share
the tough times and the victories with teammates. We all grew up together in
Memphis playing each other summer after summer so being on the same team in
high school was wonderful.”
Elaina Fulgham
“St. Mary’s was all about excellence and I would not
be the person I am today if I had not attended St. Mary’s. Giving back was
important to me and helping the team win that first state championship for us
as well as the entire school and seeing everyone so excited meant a lot.
“I am grateful to Mike Cahill who completely changed
my game after my sophomore year to serve and volley type game and helped me
become a better player emotionally and mentally. And to my parents who were so
supportive of my tennis career growing up. Driving me to practices and
tournaments and hitting hundreds of practice balls to help me prepare for
matches.”
Fulgham Gives Kudos To Baylor
“We had some wars with Baylor and win or lose their players and coaches were
the gold standard of sportsmanship. I have great admiration for those Baylor
teams.”
“In my senior year (1989) I lost that a match to Michelle
Kadrie in that 6-3 team loss to open that season. But I was able to beat her in
the state finals to help us win a second title. Michelle was as gracious when
she beat me as she was when she lost to me in a match which clinched the
championship for us two months later.”
Michelle Kadrie died
in an automobile accident at the age of 16 a couple of weeks after the 1989
state tournament.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net