By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Say this about the Union City High School girls’ tennis team: The Lady Tornadoes did not go down without a fight.
Facing its nemesis in reigning three-time Class A state champion Summertown, UC battled to the bitter end before losing 4-0 to the unbeaten Lady Eagles in the Spring Fling Final 4 on Tuesday in Murfreesboro.
It marked the fourth straight season that Summertown has ended the Twister girls’ title hopes at the state level – the previous three in the championship round.
Union City ends its season – one in which it won the program’s 28th district championship, a 17th regional title, and qualified for its 12th state tourney appearance – with a strong 16-5 record.
After falling behind early Tuesday when second-seed Dani Frankum and No. 3 Bertie Jenkins dropped their matches in straight sets to Annalee Kelly and Amelia Emmerson, respectively, the Lady Tornado trio of top seed Davey Frankum, No. 4 Allie Vincent, and fifth seeded Lexi Petty dug in their heels and forced their opposition to play three grueling sets.
Frankum bounced back after losing the first set 6-2 to Emma Perry, to win 7-5 and showed great determination before falling in a third-set tiebreaker.
The gritty Vincent won a tiebreaker after dropping her first set 6-1 against Ansley Pennington before coming up short in the final set 6-1 as the Lady Eagles closed out the match.
And Petty showed great resolve after losing her first set 6-1 to Makala Chapman, winning the second set 6-4. She was actually ahead 4-0 in the deciding set when the match was called.
“Even though we didn’t achieve the outcome we wanted, our girls played well and didn’t walk off those courts with their heads down,” first-year head coach Maddie Britt said afterward. “They laid it all out on the court. They made Summertown work for it.
“We pushed our girls to fight for every point and told them that the outcome could change at any moment during any point or any game. They really played some of their best tennis.”
Union City will graduate the Frankum twins – who rank atop the program’s list of all-time winningest players – and Petty from this year’s squad.
“I’ve been lucky to help with the high school in the past and watch the twins play at state,” Britt added. “Now I’ve seen them participate in state as their coach. They’ve really proved themselves over the past four years, especially this year. Their game continued to get better and better. They brought competitive energy that our team fed off of. They should be proud of their accomplishments in their tennis careers.
“I’m also so proud and impressed with Lexi. This was her senior year, and she brought it. She didn’t back down this season and was a solid player. She helped secure several matches for us and was playing strongly today. No doubt in my mind she would’ve closed out that match against Summertown had we kept playing.”