The Darlington Tigers took a drive that was a little over an hour to battle Whitefield Academy in the Class A Division I state semifinals.
Now they get to take a drive of about 10 minutes to play for a state championship next Saturday.
The Tigers played focused and intense tennis from the first serve to grab momentum and never let it slip away as they earned an impressive 3-1 victory over Whitefield Academy in the final four on Thursday afternoon to punch their ticket to the Class A Division I State Championship which will be held next Saturday, May 11 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
"We knew this was going to be the toughest match we have played all year. Whitefield Academy is a No. 1 seed for a reason," said Darlington head coach Betina Fuentes, who is in her first year at the helm. "We knew we had to play our best and be focused from the start. It's so gratifying as a coach to see the boys just go for it and leave it all on the court. I'm so proud of them."
Darlington took a 1-0 lead thanks to a quick and dominant two-set win by Jan Luis Weers at No. 1 singles, but Whitefiled Academy tied it at 1-1 a few minutes later by winning in two sets at No. 2 doubles.
John Courtnay came through with the next victory for the Tigers by finishing off his opponent at No. 3 singles in two sets. That made those in attendance shift their attention to the No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles matches, in which which Darlington won the first set in both.
After going up 4-1 in the second set, Darlington's No. 1 doubles team of Nicolas Ntayagabiri and Felipe Selle saw Whitefield Academy battle back to within one game at 4-3. But Ntayagibiri and Selle answered right back with some hard-fought rallies and closed out the match by breaking serve once more to secure the Tigers' win and trip to the state championship match.
"We really didn't feel pressure or anything. We knew we could do it so we just played each point like it was the last one," said Ntayagabiri, or "Tyga" as one of the team's two seniors is referred to by his teammates and coaches. "We knew we had to finish strong for our team because this means so much to get to play for a state title. We got knocked out in the second round last year so we did everything we could to make sure that we went on a deep run this year. Now that we are there, we want to win the whole thing."
"Tyga and Felipe have such a great partnership on the court. They wanted to play together this year after not playing together in doubles before," added Fuentes. "They really compliment each other so well. They have such a great relationship off the court that it just translates so well into their game. They really played well today and came through for us with everyone's eyes on their match."
Ellington's No. 2 singles match was pulled with the team result no longer in doubt after he won his first set and was battling in a back-and-forth second set.
Darlington will now have a few days off before its state championship showdown vs. the winner of the Mount Vernon and Galloway semifinal match. The Tigers will take the court at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College at approximately 1 p.m. or after the girls state championship matches are completed, which start at 9 a.m.
"We're really excited to play for a state title in Rome. We're really looking forward to being close to home and hopefully having a lot of Darlington support there for us," said Fuentes. "These boys want to taste that state championship victory just like the girls did last year."
Published in the Rome News-Tribune on May 3, 2024
