When you get to a state championship-level match between the final two teams left standing, you expect both to have to dig deep and often for the result to come down to a crucial point.
That crucial point was squarely on the shoulders of Darlington’s No. 2 doubles pair of Audrey Abbott and Sophie Piller on Saturday, and the junior and freshman combo delivered in a big way earning a thrilling three-set win to clinch the winning tally in the Lady Tigers’ 3-2 victory over Mount Vernon in the Class A Division I state championship match at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College.
Abbott and Piller won the first set of their contest, but their Mount Vernon counterparts rallied back to take the second set and force a winner-take-all third set. As the rest of the matches in the contest finished up and the team score was evened at 2-2, all eyes turned to the No. 2 doubles court.
After the set score was tied 2-2, Abbott and Piller took two straight games, breaking serve, to go up 4-2. Mount Vernon battled back to make it 4-3, but the Darlington pair once again reeled off two straight games to take the set 6-3, clinch the decisive team point and send the Lady Tigers into a state championship celebration.
“At the beginning of the season, Coach (Reid) Owens said that it could come down to any one of our lines at the end, and that kept playing over and over in my head when we went to that third set,” said the junior Abbott. “I knew that it would be whoever wanted it more and whoever showed that intensity and passion and kept their head up more so we made sure to play like that. Once we got ahead I had no doubt that we were going to win it. I’m so proud of the way we played (at No. 2 doubles) and our whole team.
“Coach Owens told us a few months ago that it was a championship or bust season because we had the talent to go all the way. We rolled through the regular season and region championship, and even when it got tougher in the playoffs, we still had that confidence that we were the best team in the state. It feels really great to finish what we started and that all our hard work paid off.”
The victory clinched Darlington’s first state championship in girls tennis since 2006 and completed an undefeated 23-0 season.
The Lady Tigers took a 1-0 lead early on Saturday as senior Chaeli Brogdon won in straight sets to claim the No. 3 singles line over her Mount Vernon opponent.
“Going in I was pretty confident I could win my match and set the tone, and after the first few points, I just played with that confident mindset,” said Brogdon. “It meant a lot to me to put us up 1-0. After that I was on the edge of my seat watching everyone else. It was so fun to watch No. 2 doubles fight and win at the end for us. I couldn’t ask for a better graduation present than to play for a state championship and win it.”
Darlington’s No. 1 doubles team of Anaya Desai and Julie Madden then won its match in two sets as well to make it 2-0. But Mount Vernon was not going down without a fight, and despite the gritty efforts of Darlington’s No. 1 singles player Serena Teluwo and No. 2 singles player Bebe Phramthong, the Lady Mustangs won both those lines to tie the match up at 2-2.
That put all the attention on the No. 2 doubles match that would decide the state championship.
“Chaeli winning at No. 3 singles early really set the tone, but even after we won at No. 1 doubles, it was neck and neck the whole way after that,” said Darlington head coach Reid Owens. “When I heard that No. 2 doubles was going into the third set with the match on the line, I really had no doubt that those two girls could pull it off. They both played so well in a pressure situation. In one of the breaks I told them to just take a moment and soak it all in. Everyone is looking at you, and this is what we meant all year when we used the phrase ‘pressure is a privilege.’ I wanted them to really stay in the moment for a second because there are few moments in sports and life when it is as fun as that was with so much on the line.
“Those two worked all year and got better as a team, and really all our girls gave 100 percent to this team and our goals. I struggled with what to tell them before the match today. I just told them that this match today was just a piece of the puzzle for our great season. And they did everything they had to do to get that final piece to finish the puzzle for a state championship and 23-0 season. I’m so proud of them. Seeing all the tears and smiles today after that last point is what it is all about.”
Although the celebration of the Lady Tigers first state championship in 17 years will last a while, the anticipation for next season will also begin soon as Darlington will lose three seniors but return a large portion of this year’s team.
Owens, who will be leaving to take a coaching job at Savannah Country Day for the upcoming school year, said he is sad to leave Darlington behind but is looking forward to seeing the program continue to compete for titles over the next few years.
“I told this group at our banquet last week that they are the benchmark now,” said Owens. “We’re losing three incredible seniors, but we have several other girls coming back and some other girls ready to step up. They have created a culture of success, and it will be fun to watch them the next few years and see what they can accomplish. Everyone in this area and in the state is now looking at Darlington with a bullseye on its back.”
Published in the Rome News-Tribune on May 14, 2023
