Lauren Murphy and Lillie Murphy of the Knoxville Catholic girls tennis team May of 2024, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Photo by Tanner Walker).
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — You’ve heard this before. And so has the Knoxville Catholic girls tennis team.
But to the Lady Irish, the storyline never gets old.
The Lady Irish will play for a Division II-AA State Championship for a fifth consecutive year, as the Lady Irish cruised past Harpeth Hall, 4-0, in a semifinal match Tuesday.
Lillie Murphy, a Furman signee and the reigning state singles champion in Division II-AA, won her singles match 8-0 Tuesday.
She and Lauren Murphy teamed for an 8-0 win to help Catholic secure the doubles point.
“We haven’t played Harpeth Hall in my four years being here, so we were going into it optimistic, based on their previous results,” Lillie Murphy told 5Star Preps after her singles win. “But, I felt like I had a strong hold on the match. Felt pretty good in singles and doubles.
“Good win for momentum, to move on into tomorrow.”
Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic (KOC) is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps 2025 Spring Sports Postseason Coverage. The KOC brand has been trusted for more than 70 years and has 3 walk-in clinics to serve you, open six days a week. Hit the logo above to learn more.
Nalla Webb and Abby Hammontree won their doubles match 8-0, also, for Catholic. Mary Caroline Ellis and Karenna Thurman led 6-1 for Catholic before doubles play stopped because Catholic had clinched the doubles point.
Webb and Lauren Murphy won singles matches, 8-2 and 8-1, respectively to clinch the match victory for the Lady Irish.
On Wednesday, Catholic will take on familiar foe Baylor in the title match, which is scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start. Baylor won its semifinal match, 5-0, over Ensworth.
Catholic has beaten Baylor in each of the last four state championship finales.
“As a whole team, I think about half of us are pretty comfortable (in knowing what to expect). The other half, we have a really young team this year,” said Lillie Murphy. “Abby Hammontree and Nolla Webb, it’s their first years playing. And it’s kind of hard to describe the emotions of playing in state. But I think they both are handling it really well.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress, from beginning to end. When we started the season, we fell to GPS in an invitational but beat them in region. We showed a lot of strength. We lost to Baylor, 5-2, in the regular season. It’s going to be a challenge tomorrow, but, I mean, as a team, I think we have the heart and have the spirit. I think it’s all there. Just put it forward.”
CAK BOYS SEEK LONG-AWAITED TITLE
The Christian Academy of Knoxville boys tennis team will face Lausanne at 9 a.m. Central time Wednesday for a Division II-A state team championship.
CAK topped Knoxville rival Grace Christian, 4-0, on Tuesday to advance to the title match. Theo Warriors last won a boys team tennis title in 2017 and last played in the season finale in 2023.
Tate Campbell (6-3, 6-1), Caleb Climer (6-2, 6-1), Sam Duzen (6-0, 6-0), and Camden Oakley (6-0, 6-1) all won singles matches to give CAK the 4-0 win.
CAK might face more resistance Wednesday, though. Lausanne is the three-time defending state champion.
IN OTHER TEAM TENNIS SEMIFINALS…
Grace Christian’s girls tennis team fell to Lausanne, 4-0, in the Division II-A state semifinals.