Leake Academy girls win tennis district title after tourney

The Leake Academy girls tennis team had a big week at the district 2-5A district tournament on Wednesday at Northeast Park in Meridian.

The Lady Rebels won the 2-5A tournament on the strength of the girls doubles teams, edging out Simpson County Academy for the title.

The Lady Rebels were ranked as the No. 1 seed in both slots heading in the district tournament. 

At the No. 1 spot, Leake senior Meredith Adams and junior Addy Lea Page entered the tournament undefeated in district play. After a first-round bye, Adams and Page split sets with Simpson Academy, winning the first set 6-1 before falling 2-6 in the second. The Lady Rebels then won 10-7 in a third-set tie breaker. In the finals, Leake had much less trouble as they took a 6-1, 6-3 win over East Rankin Academy to claim the title.

At No. 2 doubles, junior Annaelise Breazeale and seventh grader Taylor Allen also struggled in their first match of the day after getting a first-round bye. Breazeale and Allen also split sets, falling 4-6 in the first set but rallying to win the second set 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Breazeale and Allen won 10-8 to take the championship and give Leake the team district title.

In girls singles, Shelby Rudolph got a valuable point for Leake, winning her first-round match over East Rankin by a score of 6-1, 6-2. Rudolph lost 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals.

Both girls doubles teams advance to the Class 5A North State Tournament on Tuesday at Starkville Academy.