Henryetta misses first championship in 46 years by one point
The Henryetta Lady Knight varsity tennis team came away with their second-straight state runner-up trophy this past Saturday evening.
The Lady Knights just missed capturing their first state tennis championship since 1977, finishing one point behind Christian Heritage for the Class 4A team crown.
Christian Heritage finished the Class 4A state tennis championships with a team total of 21 points, followed by the Lady Knights with 20 team points.
Byng was third overall with 17 points, followed by Oklahoma Bible Academy in fourth with 16 points, and Metro Christian in fifth with 15 points.
The top performers for the Henryetta net squad at last weekend’s state tennis tournament at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center in Oklahoma City was the No. 1 Doubles tandem of Katie Davis and Kellyn Lollis, who defeated Byng’s Boatright and Cole in a tough championship battle, winning in straight sets – 7-6, 7-5, to capture the state championship medals.
Davis and Lollis began their journey towards the state championship last Friday with straight-set victories over Purcell’s Keith and Tolle (6-0, 6-0) and Pauls Valley’s English and Hamilton (6-1, 6-1), respectively. The No. 1 Doubles duo won the first set in their semifinal battle with Brown and Roquemore of Mount St. Mary by a 6-2 margin and were leading 3-0 in the second set before the Mount St. Mary duo had to retire, sending Davis and Lollis to the tournament title match.
The No. 2 Doubles team of Casi Bailey and Emma Thompson cruised through their first two matches last Friday with straight-set wins over Bristow’s Patten and Jones (6-1, 6-1) and Lincoln Christian’s Ross and Rollandini (6-2, 6-2), respectively.
In their semifinal match against Metro Christian’s Coffman and Labutti, Bailey and Thompson took the first set by a 6-4 margin. Metro Christian came out of the second set with an identical 6-4 decision before Bailey and Thompson put away their foes in the final set with a 6-4 win.
In the championship match with Byng’s Dickinson and Moore, the HHS duo dropped the first set in a 7-6 tiebreaker, then rebounded by taking the second set by a 7-5 decision to set up a ‘Winner Take All’ third set. Bailey and Thompson gave it their all in the third set, but fell in a 7-6 tiebreaker to finish as state runner-up in No. 2 Doubles.
Andrea Wade earned a fifth-place finish for the Lady Knights in No. 2 Singles. Wade began her state tournament appearance with a straight-set (6-4, 7-5) win over Lincoln Christian’s Bella Rollandini, then fell into the consolation side of the bracket after suffering a straight-set (6-2, 6-2) quarterfinal loss to Crossings Christian’s Chloe Minihan.
Wade rebounded from her quarterfinal defeat, outlasting Victory Christian’s Katie Elliott in the consolation quarterfinals. Elliott took the first set by a 6-2 margin. Wade took the sec- ond set 6-4, then outdueled Elliott in the third-set tiebreaker 12-10 to continue her state tournament appearance.
Wade earned a spot in the 5thplace match with a straight-set (6-1, 6-1) victory over Byng’s C.J. Lee in the consolation semifinals, then took home the fifth-place medal by defeating Metro Christian’s Peyton Wilkerson in straight sets – 6-4, 7-5.
Abbi Dodge was the final Lady Knight team member to compete this past weekend. Dodge began her state tournament participation in No. 1 Singles with a straight-set (6-0, 6-2) win over Byng’s Emily Holloway.
Dodge fell into the consolation side of the bracket with a straight-set (6-2, 6-0) loss to Christian Heritage’s Reece Compton in the quarterfinal round.
Dodge had her state tournament appearance come to a close in the consolation quarterfinals, suffering a straight-set (6-4, 6-1) loss to Chisholm’s Emma Kruska.
— Class 4A State Tennis Championships Team Standings
1. Christian Heritage – 21 2. Henryetta – 20 3. Byng – 17 4. Oklahoma Bible – 16 5. Metro Christian – 15 6. Oklahoma Christian School – 13 6. Crossings Christian – 13 8. Classen SAS – 9 9. Elk City – 5 9. Mount St. Mary – 5 11. Chisholm – 3 11. Skiatook – 3 13. Lincoln Christian – 2 13. Regent Prep – 2 13. Tecumseh – 2 16. Rejoice Christian – 1 — Henryetta Individual Results
No. 1 Singles – Abbi Dodge First Round: defeated Emily Holloway (Byng); 6-0, 6-2 Quarterfinals: lost to Reece Compton (Christian Heritage); 6-2, 6-0 Consolation Quarterfinals: lost to Emma Kruska (Chisholm); 6-4, 6-1 – No. 2 Singles – Andrea Wade (Fifth Place) First Round: defeated Bella Rollandini (Lincoln Christian); 6-4, 7-5 Quarterfinals: lost to Chloe Minihan (Crossings Christian); 6-2, 6-2 Consolation Quarterfinals: defeated Katie Elliott (Victory Christian); 2-6, 6-4, 12-10 Consolation Semifinals: defeated C.J. Lee (Byng); 6-1, 6-1 Consolation Finals: defeated Peyton Wilkerson (Metro Christian); 6-4, 7-5 -No. 1 Doubles – Katie Davis and Kellyn Lollis (Champions) First Round: defeated Keith/Tolle (Purcell); 6-0, 6-0 Quarterfinals: defeated English/ Hamilton (Pauls Valley); 6-1, 6-1 Semifinals: defeated Brown/Roquemore (Mount St. Mary); 6-2, 3-0 (retired) Finals: defeated Boatright/Cole (Byng); 7-6, 7-5 -No. 2 Doubles – Casi Bailey and Emma Thompson (Runner-up) First Round: defeated Patten/Jones (Bristow); 6-1, 6-1 Quarterfinals: defeated Ross/Rollandini (Lincoln Christian); 6-2, 6-2 Semifinals: defeated Coffman/Labutti (Metro Christian); 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Finals: lost to Dickinson/Moore (Byng); 7-6, 5-7, 7-6