Staff
Wednesday, May 14, 2014 12:06 pm

Sarah Hickman returns a shot during District play.

By TONY STINNETT, Courier Sports Editor

Sarah Hickman made a strong push for a district singles championship before coming up short in the semifinals of the District 8-A/AA Tournament at Tennessee Tech last week.

Hickman disposed of two opponents before falling to Merrol Hyde's Callie Brooks, 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals.

"Sarah played well and made a good run," Cannon County tennis coach Ronny Burks said. "She just ran into another good player in the semifinals."

Hickman's run began with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win against DeKalb County's Chloe White in the first round. She followed the victory with an impressive quarterfinal triumph over Central Magnet's Katie Green, 6-3, 6-4.
Cannon County's Barnes and Autumn King earned a first-round doubles win against Merrol Hyde's Garrett and Thukral, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), but the hard-earned win left little gas in the tank for their quarterfinal match.

Barnes and King ran into a tough task against Brandy Green and Rosselle Derero in a 6-0, 6-0 setback. Katie Hickman and Kristen McReynolds suffered a 6-1, 6-3 setback to Macon County's Hartley/Dixon in their first-round double match.

Cannon County's boys had some bright spots in the tournament.

The doubles team of Daxton Patrick and Patrick Barnes secured a 6-1, 6-1 win against Livingston Academy's York/Adams in the first round. They dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision to Merrol Hyde's Neil Shimer/Braxton Lang in the quarterfinals.

Cole Kaney and Jeffrey Northcutt teamed for a 7-5, 7-5 doubles win against Goodpasture's Krantz/Murray in the first round, but they suffered a tough 7-5, 6-1 setback to Merrol Hyde's Andrew Scott and Tim Coco in the quarterfinals.