Seeding for the 2018 GHSA State Tennis Tournament will continue for two more weeks, but region tournament action has already picked up in several parts of the state and revealed intriguing storylines that will end up shaping this year’s brackets. The first round of the state tourney gives teams until April 20 to complete their playoff openers, and if the past week is any indication, bids for state title defenses will be heavily contested across the classifications.
In Class AAAAAAA, Region 5 solidified its seeding for the tournament last week. The Milton boys defeated defending state champion Lambert 3-1 on March 28 to earn the program’s first region title in 15 years. Lambert did take the top seed on the girls side, however, after entering last year’s state tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Class AAAAAA was dominated by Region 7 last year, as all four semifinalists from both the boys (#1 Northview, #2 Chattahoochee, #3 Johns Creek, #4 Pope) and girls (#1 Alpharetta, #2 Cambridge, #3 Chattahoochee, #4Northview) hailed from Region 7. This year, the seeds have been significantly shuffled. The Johns Creek boys swept defending state champion and region champion Northview 3-0 to take this year’s No. 1 seed and the Northview girls defeated defending champion Cambridge 4-1 to improve from the No. 4 seed a year ago.
Class AAAAA’s recent non-region action is also showcasing a shift in power; the McIntosh boys avenged last year’s 3-0 semifinals loss to Carrollton by scoring a 4-1 win over the Trojans on March 27. Buford, which fell to defending boys state champion Starr’s Mill 3-0 in last year’s semis, will host the Region 8 tournament on April 10.
Region rivals continued to topple defending state champs in Class AAAA as well. Reigning boys champion Marist lost 3-2 to Region 7 rival Blessed Trinity on March 28 and defending girls champion St. Pius was swept by Region 8 rival North Oconee 5-0 in early March after sweeping the Titans 3-0 in last year’s final.
Defending girls Class 3A champion Westminster fell 3-2 to Region 5 rival Pace Academy last week, while the Westminster boys defeated the Knights 4-1 in what marked the first meeting since last year’s 3-0 state championship-clinching win over Pace Academy.
Defending Class AA boys state champion Bleckley County and defending Class A-Private boys state champion Stratford Academy had their anticipated non-region match rescheduled to April 11 at 4 p.m. On the girls side, Athens Academy scored an impressive 3-2 win over last year’s Class A-Private finalist, and Area 2 rival, Wesleyan on March 27.
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