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Such are the spoils of victory in high school tennis, and those spoils went to The King's Academy on Tuesday, as the visiting Lions swept all six singles matches from Beaufort Academy to advance in the SCISAA Class 2-A girls tennis playoffs.
The Lions (7-4) won five of the day's six matches in straight sets, then Elizabeth Graham outlasted Beaufort Academy's Hannah Verity in a third-set tiebreaker to finish off the sweep and send The King's Academy into the semifinals.
"They were definitely more consistent, and the other thing I noticed was they really hustled and moved their feet better than we did," Eagles coach Greg Crosby said. "I think on a given day we could do better than we did today, but they're probably a little more experienced overall as a team."
The Eagles (7-5) hope to play the role of the experienced squad this time next year. They will lose only one senior, Mary Beth Mitchell, and will return all of their top six singles players. Despite that youth, they managed to sweep their four region matches and earn a home playoff match.
"I felt like we had a very successful season," Crosby said.
The season will extend for at least one more match for the Lions, who probably will face region rival Carolina Academy on Friday in Sumter. The top seed, Carolina Academy defeated The King's Academy twice during the regular season.
"They have the mental advantage, because they've beaten us twice," Lions coach Beth Behling said. "But I think we have some momentum going into this weekend. We're excited."
The King's Academy 6, Beaufort Academy 0
Singles: No. 1 -- Rachel Sillman (TKA) def. Shelby Mixson 6-0, 6-1; No. 2 -- Ashton Sankuer (TKA) def. Morgan McNeal 6-4, 6-0; No. 3 -- Lauren Sankuer (TKA) def. JaneAnn Laffitte 6-2, 6-3; No. 4 -- Shannon Edmunds (TKA) def. Libby Malinowski; No. 5 -- Maggie Jackson (TKA) def. Hope Keane 6-3, 6-2; No. 6 -- Elizabeth Graham (TKA) def. Hannah Verity 6-2, 5-7, 10-6.
