Tennis season recap: GAC boys win national title; 3 schools sweep boys, girls

Westminster, LaGrange and Pierce County swept boys and girls championships this tennis season, and Walton’s girls and Westminster’s boys and girls ran their trophy counts further into the 20s.

Four teams won state titles for the first time. Seven repeated from last season.

But the most extraordinary season accomplishment was Greater Atlanta Christian’s national championship.

The GAC boys team finished 27-0, a record that included four wins at the National High School Tennis Championship in Orlando, Florida, in February. The tournament was an eight-team invitational with teams from five states and Washington, D.C.

UTR Sports ranks GAC the No. 1 high school team in the country. UTR stands for Universal Tennis Rating, a numerical grade assigned to tennis players from the recreational level to the pro tours. Even Jannik Sinner has one.

Team UTR — the average of a team’s best six players — was the criteria used to select the teams to go to Orlando and to produce the final rankings.

“We didn’t go into this season with that ambition,” GAC coach Brett Harte said. “We just wanted to compete at a high level. But to win a national championship was huge, and to finish with the highest UTR ranking among 28,000 high school in the country is a great accomplishment.”

GAC has won four straight Georgia championships, but Harte says his 2026 team is the best he’s coached or seen in his 15 seasons at the Gwinnett County school.

No. 1 singles player Harrison Kemp and No. 3 singles player Marcello Bisogno were the only seniors in the starting lineup. Tennis Recruiting Network ranks Kemp the No. 75 player and Bisogno the No. 267 player nationally in their recruiting classes.

Jason Eigbedion, who played No. 2 singles, is the No. 48 sophomore nationally. Doubles players Brady Gessner and Santi Bisogno also are among the top 125 sophomores nationally, and Freddy Dougah has a top-400 national ranking as a junior.

Most high school teams are lucky to have even one player with those credentials. Many top juniors don’t play because of the time commitments, or they homeschool or take all classes online, opting out of traditional high schools.

Harte credits GAC’s hybrid program for keeping his team together. Influenced by things learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the program schedule allows students to attend classes until 12:15 p.m., train in a sport after lunch and take two online classes taught mostly by GAC faculty.

“It’s been a game changer for us,” Harte said. “Players at this level specializing in their sport have a chance to get all their workouts in and get home for dinner with family.”

Kemp played No. 1 singles the past three seasons after playing No. 3 as a freshman.

“I played high school tennis because of the overall excitement that everyone on the team had my freshman year,” Kemp said. “I continued to play because of coach Harte’s ability to schedule matches with teams that allow us to compete at a high level. It was fun because of the incredible teammates and he competritve matches we got to play.”

Kemp lost matches to players from Hawaii and Tennessee but figures it made him better. He was undefeated in Georgia. His goal is to play for a Power 4 team, and he’s taking an extra year to raise his game before signing.

Harte believes top junior players who don’t play high school tennis are missing out. They don’t get the recognition or the experience of team play that high school sports afford, he said.

After winning the national tournament in Orlando, GAC’s players were honored during chapel services at the school.

“Each got called up individually in front of the student body and were given a standing ovation from their classmates, which meant a lot to them,” Harte said. “Many of my players were at soccer and football and basketball games all season, cheering on their teammates. It creates a lot of team and school unity when you play for your high school team.”

Other highlights of the 2026 tennis season

• Westminster in Class 4A, LaGrange in 3A and Pierce County in 2A swept boys and girls titles.
• Winning their first state titles were LaGrange’s girls, Pierce’s boys, West Forsyth’s boys in 6A and Johnson County’s boys in A Division I.
• Repeating as champions were GAC’s boys (fourth straight), Westminster’s boys (sixth straight), LaGrange’s boys, Pierce’s boys, Brantley County’s boys in A Division I, Milton’s girls in 5A and Telfair County’s girls in A Division II.
• Westminster’s boys won their 27th title, the most of any program. Walton’s girls and Westminster’s girls won their 25th titles, second most to Marist (29) all-time.
• Three championships came down to a fifth and final match. West Forsyth’s Aaron Ewers and Joey Faust won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) after trailing 4-0 in the third set against Lambert. Holy Innocents’ Hannah Johnson and Alessandra Georgiev won 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2 doubles against Mount Bethel Christian. Westminster’s No. 2 singles player, Shaan Jindal, outlasted Marist’s William Riordan, who fought off five match points but lost 7-5, 6-7 (8), 6-0 after suffering cramps in the final set.

State finals results

The AJC compiled the individual match scores below with the help of the GHSA media director Marvin James and the teams’ coaches. They are not part of the official GHSA record nor published elsewhere. Matches were played May 13 at Rome Tennis Center.

Boys

Class 6A: West Forsyth d. Lambert 3-2

• Nic Wild (W) d. Tanush Gade 6-3, 6-0
• Shiv Siju (L) d. Advaith Acharya 6-0, 6-0
• Rishik Kosaraju (L) d. Joe Stinson 6-0, 6-3
• Nolan Niksich/Kam Packiaraj (W) d. Chetan Challa/Tanish Killedar 6-4, 6-1
• Aaron Ewers/Joey Faust (W) d. Andrei Grigorian/Ryan Koh 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)

Class 5A: Riverwood d. Dunwoody 3-0

• James Wakefield (R) vs. Ryan Reid 6-4, 4-4 DNF
• Drew Hanin (R) vs. Luca Ramondino 6-2, 6-5 DNF
• Mario Oruch (R) d. Ethan Denson 6-1, 7-5
• Harrison Payne/Taichi Shimizu (R) d. Jack Ketover/Brodie Munn 6-2, 6-2
• Harris Unell/Josh Greenberg (R) d. Jack Lamb/Chris Lofreddio 6-1, 6-0

Class 4A: Westminster d. Marist 3-2

• Erik Johansson (M) d. Jack Velarde 6-4, 6-0
• Shaan Jindal (W) d. William Riordan 7-5, 6-7 (8), 6-0
• Dev Katarya (W) d. Ryan Wurst 7-6 (3), 6-2
• Landon Cummings/Neal Jindal (W) d. Reilly Dickie/Wyatt Miller 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1
• Andrew Chatigny/Thomas Koziol (M) d. Dhruv Polsani/Ethan Jiang 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Class 3A: LaGrange d. Calhoun 3-1

• Ethan Black (L) d. Kirk Wallin 6-1, 6-2
• Walker Hurd (C) d. Alex Lee 6-2, 6-1
• Scout Mosley (L) vs. Noah Schutz 6-3, 4-5 DNF
• Brody Douhne/Charlie Battle (L) d. William Anderson/Cohen Shelton 6-0, 6-0
• Sehun Seol/Towns Weldon (L) d. Matthew Hurley/Michael Enge 6-2, 7-5

Class 2A: Pierce County d. Columbus 3-1

• James Mac Dickinson (C) d. JC Nimmer 6-0, 6-3
• Jeb Bradley (P) d. Jaiden Shah 6-1, 6-3
• Aaden Carlson (P) d. Aadi Dalsania 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
• Kellen Roberts/Colby Coates (P) d. Jahaan Dalsania/Jimmy Russell 7-5. 6-4
• Grayson Rodgers/Thomas Lucas (P) vs. William Brown/Rishi Thiruppathi 2-6, 6-4, 4-3 DNF

Class A Division I: Brantley County d. Rabun County 3-1

• Lleyton Phillips (R) d. Ashton Tyler 6-3, 6-4
• Owen Spradley (B) d. John Getty 6-4, 6-1
• Jayce Chapman (B) d. Jacobe Smith 6-1, 6-1
• Jett Florey/Miles Florey (B) vs. Brady Darnell/Landan Bedingfield 7-5, 3-6, 2-3 DNF
• Evan Payne/Alex Keen (B) d. Braylon Kelly/Andrew Conner 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

Class A Divison II: Johnson County d. Taylor County 3-0

• Seth Lamb (J) vs. Cam Kirksey 6-4, 6-6 DNF
• Lawson Martin (J) d. Rhiley Davis 6-0, 6-1
• Malik Walker (J) d. Bo Harris 6-1, 4-6, 6-0
• Matthew McCoy/Jake Rogers (J) d. Dark Cross/Logan Hobbs 6-3, 6-1
• William Peters/Cohen Scott (J) vs. Judd York/Cahlen Cox 6-3, 4-6, 1-2 DNF

Private: Greater Atlanta Christian d. Darlington 3-0

• Harrison Kemp (G) vs. John Courtnay 6-2, 5-1 DNF
• Jason Eigbedion (G) d. Murray Ellington 6-4, 3-1 DNP
• Marcello Bisogno (G) d. Randy Kim 6-2, 6-0
• Brady Gessner/Santi Bisogno (G) d. Felipe Selle/Lukas Hempel 6-3, 6-1
• Frederick Dougah/Simon Dong (G) d. Davis Carney/Grady Ferguson 6-2, 2-1

Girls

Class 6A: Walton d. South Forsyth 3-0

• Andie Xu (W) vs. Lauren Chutka 7-5, 3-4 DNF
• Alexis Alston (W) vs. Harshika Lekkala 6-2, 4-5 DNF
• Dhanya Patur (W) d. Sami Kariyaden 6-4, 6-4
• Safah Patel/Anne Marie Alston (W) d. Anwitha Anbuchelian/Aadya Warikoo 6-1, 6-1
• Sevrine Hougier/Kate Ketmayura (W) d. Miabella Ferrara/Carolina Marulanda 6-2, 6-2

Class 5A: Milton d. Lakeside-Evans 3-0

• Whitney Burke (M) vs. Emme Bull 6-2, 2-3 DNF
• Lara Macedo (M) d. Marlea Griffis 6-2, 6-2
• Sophia Gray (M) vs. Ellie Clemente 6-4, 4-4 DNF
• Emma Jakovenko/Chelsea Burke (M) d. Hannah Liebel/Savanna Mills 6-2, 6-1
• Nidhi Chandrappa/Stephanie Malcom (M) d. Connor Trammell/Maddie Jackson 6-1, 6-4

Class 4A: Westminster d. Cambridge 3-0

• Mary Kate Monk (W) d. Mercer Holman 6-0, 6-1
• Mims Pettit (W) d. Russell Ericson 6-2, 6-1
• Annie Chen (W) d. Eesha Rangaraj 6-2, 6-0
• Sydney Wszolek/Sadie Burdell (W) vs. Amaya Matthaeus/Rhea Das DNF
• Kate Lane/Morgan McGill (W) vs. Meher Tucker/Sofia Dua DNF

Class 3A: LaGrange d. Oconee County 3-0

• Molly Edelson (L) d. Mary Linda Veit 6-3, 6-2
• Ava Edelson (L) d. Divya Stratton 6-4, 6-0
• Yerim Kim (L) vs. Nyasa Patel 4-6, 1-2, DNF
• Ava Wallace/Anna Claire Lumpkin (L) vs. Ellie Johnson/Audrey Stephens 4-6, 5-2 DNF
• Madison Del Angel/Elly Sanchez (L) d. Caroline Smith/Mehek Desai 6-1, 6-3

Class 2A: Pierce County d. Appling County 3-0

• Marlee Kate Wetherington (P) d. Braelyn Shelby 6-1, 6-0
• Mattie Lee (P) d. Addie Towns 6-3, 6-1
• Jasmine Sergent (P) vs. Bristol Wright 6-4, 1-3 DNF
• Eva Horne/Abby Higginson (P) vs. Emie Ewaldsen/Ivy Beckworth 6-7, 5-4 DNF
• Addie Brown/Riley Chambless (P) d. Tana Hall/Marlee Anderson 6-3, 6-0

Class A Division I: Jeff Davis d. Model 3-0

• Cori Mims (J) d. Baylen Robinson 6-1, 6-0
• Lila Walters (J) d. Olivia Peek 6-3, 6-0
• Ryleigh King (J) vs. Ava Welchel 6-3, 2-1 DNF
• Ava Coleman/Kylie Ross (J) d. Sara Simmons/Mallory Moore 6-3, 6-4
• Rowan Fisher/Caylin Carter (J) vs. Greta Garrett/Anabella Rozier 6-3, 4-5 DNF

Class A Division II: Telfair County d. Lake Oconee Academy 3-0

• Sarah Williams (T) d. Elizabeth Moore 6-2, 6-3
• Ryleigh Jones (T) d. Emi Mokan 6-1, 3-6, 4-3 DNF
• Jamie Beatty (L) d. Sydney Singleton 6-2, 6-3
• Sailee Siddall/Bhavi Patel (T) d. Grace Kalmanowicz/Kaden Hudson 7-6, 6-3
• Carlin Knowles/Emalee Ashley (T) d. Kaylee Churchwell/Sara McClendon 6-1, 6-3

Private: Holy Innocents’ d. Mount Bethel Christian 3-2