Gigi Sompayrac (left) and Maeve Thornton celebrate during their doubles match Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Murfreesboro. The two helped the Knoxville Catholic girls’ tennis team win its third consecutive Division II-AA championship. (Photo by Charles Mays Media).
MURFREESBORO – Senior captains Maeve Thornton and Gigi Sompayrac put the finishing touches on their Catholic tennis careers Wednesday morning at Adams Tennis Complex.
After teaming to clinch the doubles point, Thornton and Sompayrac won singles matches as the Lady Irish defeated Chattanooga Baylor 4-1 and won their third consecutive Division II-AA championship.
“It’s just been a blast, honestly,” Sompayrac said of the Lady Irish’s run. “I’ve had the best teammates who have really helped me become a better player while having fun. It’s just been amazing.”
Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic (KOC) is the proud sponsor of 5Star Preps 2023 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.
Thornton, a Furman signee, completed her Catholic career without losing a match in singles or doubles.
Thornton relished the team experience after years of playing tournament tennis on her own.
“It’s so fun. It’s a lot different,” Thornton said. “Usually you’re traveling by yourself, competing for yourself, but now you’re competing for your teammates. It just gives you more motivation, and I think just the relationships you have with your team really carries you through the matches.”
The Lady Irish won Class A-AA state titles in 2016 and 2017 before making the move to Division II-AA for the 2021 season (the 2020 season was cancelled for the pandemic).
They ended Baylor’s streak of nine straight Division II-AA state championship with a 4-2 victory in the 2021 final, and last year defeated the Lady Red Raiders 4-1 in the championship match.
Catholic, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Universal Tennis Ranking (UTR), took down the longtime state power again Wednesday morning.
“It’s super exciting,” Thornton said. “It’s a huge accomplishment getting three in a row. It just shows how consistent our team is and how our lineup is stacked. I think it’s a great accomplishment for the school.”
The Knoxville Catholic girls tennis team captured their third consecutive Division II-AA state championship in Murfreesboro on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. (Photo by Charles Mays Media)
Catholic and Baylor split the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles matches Wednesday.
Catholic’s Eleni Liakonis and Lillie Murphy defeated Amelia Ohlsson and Sloane Proffitt 8-1 at No. 2 doubles, and Baylor’s Margarette Berdy and Sara Catherine Bradshaw beat Payton Carroll and Karenna Thurman 8-6 at No. 3 doubles.
Thornton and Sompayrac clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 victory over Helen Guerry and Gabby Czarnecki at No. 1 doubles, giving the Lady Irish a 1-0 lead going into the singles matches.
“It’s everything in that style of play,” Catholic coach Rusty Morris said of the doubles point. “We know our 1, 2, 3 and 4 (singles) this year have been hard to beat, so if you can get the doubles point, all you’ve got to do is win three of those (singles).
“Even our No. 5’s (Carroll) been hard to beat. We’re going to win three matches out of those 1 through 6. (Doubles is) so big for us. It just gets the momentum going your way, and the way Baylor plays doubles, that’s not an easy task. They have great style of play and great coaching, so it’s always tough.”
Sompayrac, who’s signed with Division I Anderson (S.C.) University, gave the Lady Irish a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Czarnecki at No. 4 singles.
“It was a very exciting experience for me because I don’t think I’ve ever closed out a match at state,” Sompayrac said, “so to be one of the clinchers, it was very fun, then I got to cheer on my teammates, so it was great.”
Sophomore Lillie Murphy, who hasn’t lost a singles or doubles match in two years, posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Brady at No. 2 singles for a 3-0 lead.
Baylor’s Molly Donovan defeated Thurman, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. Baylor trailed 3-1.
Thornton then clinched the final point and the match by beating Helen Guerry 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
“I played decent,” Thornton said. “I was nervous at first, really nervous and tight, but I pulled it together. It was a good match and she played well too.”
Morris felt a sense of relief once the pressure-packed final was over.
“It’s a relief because Baylor always brings so much intensity and they fight so hard,” Morris said. “You always know it’s going to be a battle.”
He was glad to have Thornton and Sompayrac.
“Maeve, what a great leader, and great by her example and by her speech and everything she does,” Morris said. “She’s just a great example. And Gigi, you can’t discount her leadership either. She’s a senior captain also and the improvement she’s made has been incredible. She was one of the first matches off today to get things in singles going our way.
“Those two senior leaders combined are going to be hard to replace, but we’ve got a lot of character. Lillie Murphy and Eleni Liakonis, Payton new to the team, we’re looking forward to next year also, but we’ll definitely miss those two seniors.”
WARRIORS ARE RUNNERS-UP
CAK Warriors finish as 2023 Division II-A runner-up.
Christian Academy of Knoxville’s boys pulled out a marathon victory in Tuesday’s Division II-A semifinals by defeating University School of Nashville, 4-3.
The Warriors didn’t fare as well in Wednesday’s championship match, losing to Lausanne 4-0.
“They were a great team,” CAK coach Mike Davis said. “I think they’re a very senior team. I know their No. 1 player’s a senior, but they all look big and older. We have a freshman, three sophomores, a junior and a senior making out our top six.”
Jayden Torry, playing No. 5 singles, is the Warriors’ only senior.
“We’re very young,” Davis said. “We just lose one out of the top six, so we’re looking forward to next year and being bigger, stronger, faster, and more experienced. I think we gained a lot of experience out of the match today.”
Torry won a crucial match Tuesday, defeating USN’s Simon Fox 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.
Caleb Climer and Sam Duzan clinched the Warriors’ berth in the final with an 8-1 win over USN’s Fox and Jude Eskind at No. 2 doubles.
“It was a great run. It came down to the doubles,” Davis said of the USN win. “(Torry) was down 7-6, 5-2 and it was critical that we won that match, because whoever won that match would be up 3-2 going into doubles, and he came back and won that match.”