By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Mother Nature might have won the day, but Union City is still in legitimate position to win as many as three state berths in the Region 7-A Tennis Tournament.
Rain and lightning late Monday afternoon postponed the singles and doubles championships to Tuesday at 3 p.m., with the Tornadoes already assured of at least one doubles spot in next week’s Spring Fling.
Two other places in the state bracket are up for grabs with UC players in the championship round.
District champions and top seed Shelby Bondurant and Molly Kizer are tied at 2-all with Lady Tornado teammates Dani and Davey Frankum in the first set of the girls’ doubles championship after both Union City tandems breezed to semifinal victories.
The team of Bondurant and Kizer overpowered South Gibson County’s Sara Kate Camp and Farrah Nelson 6-3, 6-0 in the Final Four, while the Frankum sisters lost the first game before then dominating the SGC twosome of Morgan Chicantek and Chloe Carpenter 6-2, 6-2.
UC has a boys’ doubles team in the hunt, too, after Charleton Wisener and Gavin Pledge upset South Gibson’s Daniel Pipken and Isaiah McLemore – the District 13 champions – 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. The Twister duo, which combined timely shot-making with SG errors, was set to play Gibson County’s Collin Skelton and Colton Lumpkin of Gibson County in the championship when the rain and lightning came.
Freshman district titlist Bertie Jenkins was down one set (3-6) and 3-2 in the second vs. Dyersburg’s Malyn Morgan when play was suspended. Jenkins had won the first five games of her semifinal match against Megan Coker of Ripley and cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory to reach the finals.
The region champions will move on to next week’s state individual tournament, to be played at Murfreesboro’s Adams Tennis Complex on Thursday and Friday.