Hilton Head Prep girls capture 5th consecutive SCISA tennis crown

Not even the upheaval created by Hurricane Matthew could divert Hilton Head Prep from a fifth consecutive SCISA girls' tennis title.

The Dolphins retained the SCISA 2A crown Monday with a 5-2 victory over Trinity-Byrnes in Sumter, finishing with flair as Lindsey Zimmermann and Catie Meighan notched the decisive point in doubles without dropping a game.

Zimmermann and Meighan also produced singles victories as the Dolphins (13-1) beat Trinity-Byrnes in the final for the second straight year.

"Obviously there's a lot going in our lives right now," Prep coach Manson Hill said. "But they sort of had it in their minds this was something they were going to do. They went out after the layoff and played some really good tennis."

Zimmermann lost just one game in dispatching Trinity-Byrnes' Lizzie Johnston at No.1 singles, while Meighan did the same at No.2 singles against Maggie Murrell.

No.3 Alexis Voulgaropolis and eighth-grader Lauren Harvey also were singles winners, with Harvey claiming victory after a tense 11-9 third set tiebreaker.

With Prep taking a 4-2 lead into doubles play, Zimmermann and Meighan made quick work to lock up the crown with a 6-0, 6-0 romp over Johnston and Murrell.

"It was really important to them," Hill said of the Dolphins' championship streak. "We have five seniors that have been with the program for a while, and they're used to that tradition. So it was very important to them. And my younger players wanted to become part of that tradition."

The Dolphins reached the final by sweeping their previous two tournament foes, scoring 6-0 victories over Pee Dee Academy in the quarterfinals and Carolina Academy in the semifinals.

This story was originally published October 25, 2016 at 9:35 AM with the headline "Hilton Head Prep girls capture 5th consecutive SCISA tennis crown."