Leake tennis squad advances to 5A tournament

Three Leake Academy tennis players — all from Philadelphia — advanced to the Class 5A state tournament last week and two of them brought home North 5A championships.

“I am so proud of these three players for making it to the State Championship,” Leake Academy coach Haley Warner said. “We give all the glory to God for the talents, abilities, and opportunities He has given them. Taylor, Shelby and William will certainly represent Leake Academy well and we cannot wait to watch them compete!”

Both of Leake’s No. 1 singles players brought home wins. Sophomore Taylor Allen defended her North 5A title by repeating her performance from last year. Allen beat Pillow Academy’s Annie Powers 6-1, 6-0 in the first round and then beat Lamar School’s Britton Dunn 6-3, 6-0 in the North 5A finals. Allen advances to the Class 5A state tournament for the second straight year and is seeking her first state championship after falling in the finals last year.

In boy’s No. 1 singles, eight grader William Warner also brought home a North 5A title. Warner beat Starkville’s George Bock 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals and then beat Heritage’s Spencer Ward 7-5, 6-4 in the North 5A finals.

In No. 2 girls singles, senior Shelby Rudolph also advanced to the state tournament. Rudolph had the match of the day in the first round when she beat Bayou Academy’s Mary Gibson Jennings 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in first-round action that lasted for three hours. Rudolph fell 6-3, 6-1 to Pillow’s Millie Smith in the finals but will advance to the Class 5A state tournament this week.

The 5A tournament is scheduled to be played on Thursday at Ridgeland Tennis Center.