Lillie Murphy. (Photo: Knoxville Catholic tennis)
BY JESSE SMITHEY
MURFREESBORO — Lillie Murphy capped her career in style Friday, as expected.
The Knoxville Catholic standout had put together one of the more decorated prep tennis careers of anyone in the state. And the only thing left for her to do was: win another Division II-AA state singles championship.
Mission accomplished.
Once the singles tournament began, Murphy won her quarterfinal and semifinal matches both in 6-0, 6-0 fashion.
The Furman signee won 6-1, 6-2, over Baylor’s Margarette Berdy to repeat as singles champion.
Murphy also topped Berdy in Catholic’s 4-1 loss to Baylor in the team finale Wednesday.
“This was my fourth time play Margarette Berdy this season, and I have played her countless times before in previous seasons,” Murphy said. “While I’ve won every time, she is a great player, and we both have a lot of respect each other’s games.
“I think I handled the pressure of going undefeated in singles my entire high school career and the emotions of my last high school match really well. Before the match, my coach and I got a solid game plan on what to win and sticking to that, and playing the big points smart led to my victory over Berdy.”
Murphy played a pivotal role in Catholic winning team state championships from 2022-2024 and its state runner-up finish this week.
To go along with her three team titles and two singles titles, Murphy won doubles championships in 2022 and 2023.
“It’s hard to put into words what the past four years of high school tennis has meant to me,” Murphy said. “Knoxville Catholic has a rich history for its girls tennis and being a part of such a winning program has not only helped my game but shaped me a lot as a person. Winning the singles title today was a near perfect way to end my high school career, as my freshman and sophomore year I won the doubles championship and junior year won the singles. I think having been in this position three previous times helped me a lot. But no matter how much experience, there is always a sense of nerves.”
MORE WINNERS
Murphy wasn’t the only area tennis talents to reach state finals this week.
West’s Gray Feaster and Callie Schroeffel teamed up to win the Division I, Class AA, girls doubles championship — winning the championship match 6-0, 6-0, over Soddy Daisy’s Laura Jenkins and Weatherly Baker. Feaster and Schroeffel survived a three-set contest in the quarterfinal round but cruised to the championship round after that.
In Division II-A Boys, a tandem of seniors from TKA — Chris Cook and Jonah Weber — won a state doubles championship, taking down Nate Wittke and Lockard Richardson of Lausanne 6-3, 6-4. The win marked the first tennis championship of any kind for TKA Boys Tennis.
And in Division I, Class AA, Madison Huffman — who overcame a tough foot injury her junior season in 2024 — claimed state runner-up in singles play. She fell 6-4, 6-3, to White Station’s Emma Wang.
Still, in her return, Huffman went 25-1 this spring in singles and doubles play combined. She won District 4-AA and Region 2-AA singles titles.