By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Emma Mobbs is going, and Shelby Bondurant and Molly Kizer are going back.
The Union City tennis trio secured spots in the Class 1A state tournament by winning regional championships Wednesday on the Bethel University courts.
Mobbs – a freshman – became the first female singles player in the decorated history of the Tornado program to advance to the Spring Fling by rallying to beat McNairy County’s Caylee Stepp in three sets in the finals.
Meanwhile, the seasoned doubles tandem of Bondurant and Kizer – last year’s state runner-up – earned another shot at the title by beating teammates Dani and Davey Frankum 6-3, 6-2 in a rematch of last year’s regional championship match.
State quarterfinal play will begin next Thursday (May 23) in Murfreesboro with both singles and doubles matches to begin at 9 a.m. The semifinals are slated for that afternoon at 2, with the title matches scheduled for Friday (May 24) at 9 a.m.
Mobbs will face Cannon County senior Jenna Bush, while the Bondurant/Kizer tandem will play South Greene’s Ryleigh Gregg and Macey Waddell.
Tom Sisco was naturally thrilled that both his singles and doubles players are moving on, but admittedly thought UC deserved another slot in the doubles bracket.
“It’s a shame the twins (Dani and Davey) can’t advance, too,” the Tornado coach said. “Their championship match against Shelby and Molly was outstanding. There was a lot of good shot-making, long rallies, and some really good tennis played.
“Shelby and Molly are just playing so well right now. They’re confident. They’re focused. They’re going to be a handful for whomever they play at the state tournament.”
Both Union City doubles teams overwhelmed their semifinal foes, surrendering just one game each in two dominating sets.
Mobbs, who burst onto the postseason scene last week by winning the District 14 championship after knocking off the top two seeds, continued her impressive tourney run Wednesday.
She breezed to a straight-set win over Sadie Huddleston in the semis before needing a big comeback over Stepp, who’d won the first set 6-2.
Undaunted and making some in-match adjustments, Mobbs won 12 of the next 15 games, taking the second and then rolling to a 6-1 victory in the final set.
“Emma was very persistent with her groundstrokes after making a couple of changes,” Sisco said. “She began playing with a great deal of confidence in that second set, then just took over in the third and took advantage of some fatigue of her opponent.”
Four times a state runner-up – including each of the last two years – UC will look to clinch another team berth to Spring Fling when it entertains Milan (14-1) in today’s sectional at 5 p.m.
Singles
Emma Mobbs (UC) vs. Sadie Huddleston (McNairy Co.) 6-1, 6-1
Emma Mobbs (UC) vs. Caylee Stepp (McNairy Co.) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
Shelby Bondurant/Molly Kizer vs. Jordan Hampton/Julie Hampton (Scotts Hill) 6-0, 6-1
Dani Frankum/Davey Frankum vs. Isabella Brown/Jamison Graham (Adamsville) 6-0, 6-1
Kizer/Bondurant vs. Frankum/Frankum 6-3, 6-2