Baylor's tennis team is advancing through the USTA JTT tennis championships.
photo by Contributed
This weekend concluded the USTA Junior Team Tennis (JTT) State Championship event held at the Adams Tennis Complex. Teams from across the state showcasing some of the premiere talent in junior tennis joined together to compete for an opportunity to represent the Volunteer State in the coming Sectional Championships to be held in Georgia this August.
The JTT State Championships are divided by age division, 10-18, and skill set, intermediate or advanced. Junior Team Tennis is a unique format among championship events in that teams compete against one another in a dedicated format - one gentleman singles match, one ladies singles match, one gentlemen's doubles match, one ladies doubles match, and one mixed doubles match. The outcome of the team event is decided by overall games won over the course of the five matches. Teams are composed of a minimum of three girls and three boys with rules that define how lineups can be altered from match to match throughout the event. The JTT event is a new spin on traditional tournament tennis competition.
This year, Tennessee will be represented by a Baylor School team in the 18 and under advanced division. The team, coached by Baylor tennis coach Ryan Reeves, advanced from their division which included teams from Nashville, Knoxville, and Johnson City. The ladies featured rising freshman Franchesca Brown - winner of 44 total games, Baylor sophomores Helen Guerry and Ensley Collins, who anchored the doubles competition and earned 39 total games, as well as Addison Horton who contributed 18 games in mixed doubles play.
The gentlemen were highlighted by impressive play from rising senior Matthew Templeton’s 46 games won, doubles tandem of George Edwards and Andrew Lambeth with 36 games won, and Sanjit Pamidi contributing in mixed doubles play. Coach Reeves commented on the weekend, “It’s a very unique format but a great opportunity to compete with some of the best players in the state. The kids played some strong tennis this weekend and are excited to move on to represent the state moving forward.”
The Sectional Championships are scheduled to take place August 13-15 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Georgia.