For the second time in two weeks, the Dalton Golf and Country Club Bulldogs have won a USTA Junior Team Tennis 18 and Under state championship.
Two weeks ago, the team travelled to Murfreesboro, TN and claimed the Tennessee State Championship and this past weekend, they captured the Georgia State Championship in Macon, GA.
This marks the first time any team from the North Georgia Tennis Association has won the Georgia State JTT Championship, said Bulldogs Coach Garrick Sanford.
Each team match includes a girls’ singles, boys’ singles, girls’ doubles, boys’ doubles and a mixed doubles match. Wins for the team are calculated by total games won.
The team had a tough path to victory in Georgia as 20 teams from across the state clashed in Macon, GA. Going into the final match, the Bulldogs not only had to win the match, but had to win by a 6 game margin to avoid elimination. They took the match by 7 games seal their victory.
Winning both Tennessee and Georgia, they are in a unique position to get to pick which state they will represent in the JTT Sectionals, which will be held in Rome, GA, August 13-15.
Coach Garrick Sanford said, “This is a special group of kids with tons of grit and fight. We knew going in that our opponents were going to be tough, but they fought and I am so proud of them.”
Competing for the Bulldogs this weekend were Brayden Conn, Henry Horne, Jacob Johnson, McLean Murray, Lauren Pitts, Rebecca Pitts, Allie Raughton, Jace Sanford, Braelyn Tallent, and Sam Woodall.