Dalton Golf and Country Club’s USTA 18U Junior Team Tennis won the Tennessee State Championship this weekend in Murfreesboro, TN. Teams from across Tennessee gathered at the Adams Tennis Complex to compete. This is the third year in a row that the DGCC Bulldogs have captured the state title.
Coach Garrick Sanford, head coach of the Dalton Golf and Country Club tennis program, led the team to a number one seed position entering the finals bracket on Sunday. Coach Sanford was assisted by Tucker Hemphill, Kathryn Barker, Callie Osborn and Olivia Underwood.
Coach Garrick Sanford said “I am beyond proud of this team and their fight. We won the final match by 3 total games which were all tiebreakers won at girls singles, girls doubles and boys doubles. It was a true team effort and I’m excited to see us compete at Sectionals.”
The team competed in a format of boys singles, girls singles, boys doubles, girls doubles and mixed doubles for each match.
The Bulldogs won all of their matches during the entire tournament. There were 30 teams in their 18U division. The Bulldogs faced the Fort Sanders Admirals in the finals and fought hard to hold onto their title of State Champs. They supported each other through the entire tournament and proudly cheered each other on to victory. They are advancing to the Sectionals Championships which will host top JTT teams from across the South.
The Sectional tournament will take place August 13-15 at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, GA.
Members of the team include Brayden Conn, Henry Horne, Anna Jarrett, Caroline Johnson, Jacob Johnson, McLean Murray, Lauren Pitts, Rebecca Pitts, Allie Raughton, Jace Sanford, Callie Stanfield, Katie Rose Stanfield, Braelyn Tallent, Jayda Wood and Sam Woodall.