Under the guidance of first-year head coach Conner Perry, Morgan County’s tennis teams celebrated triumphant seasons in 2024.
The Dogs and Lady Dogs embarked on an exhilarating journey, achieving remarkable success by making a deep run to the Georgia High School Association’s Class AAA postseason.
Despite their valiant efforts, the teams were eventually bested by formidable tennis powerhouse Wesleyan in the quarterfinal round last week.
However, Perry was proud of his players and acknowledged their success in his inaugural year as head coach.
“We had a great season but had a tough draw in the Elite Eight against Wesleyan, the defending boys’ and girls’ back-to-back state champs,” Perry said. “If we are going to lose to anybody, I am glad it was against the best.”
Perry acknowledged the goal entering the season was for each team to win the region championship, which the Dogs and Lady Dogs did. He also said each team exceeded expectations with deep runs in the state playoffs.
“The boys and girls had different expectations when it got to the postseason,” Perry added. “They each had their own set of goals for the playoffs and did a great job of exceeding expectations this year.”
Morgan County’s boys rallied behind senior Jackson Kirby, the team’s No. 1 singles player, to help lead the way. The Dogs swept Crisp County and Savannah Christian before losing to Wesleyan in the quarterfinal round.
Morgan County’s girls wanted to prove themselves as well. The Lady Dogs, powered by junior Mallory Martin and others, defeated Monroe (Albany) and Savannah Christian before losing to Wesleyan to end the year.
Each of Morgan County’s teams will return most of their starters next year. For the boys, Kirby and Charlie Martin are graduating next month, and for the girls, Erin Gresham and Addison Boyer are moving on.
Morgan County’s boys are set to return contributors Charlie Arnold, Aiden West, Tommy Arthur, Leyton Hull, and Reese Freyer next season. These five players will try to build on this season’s success into next year.
Morgan County’s girls will return Martin, Madisyn Cannington, Katie Davis, Banessa Santoyo, and Lysaa Schaeffer. These five Lady Dogs hope to win another region championship next year, adding to this year’s triumph.
“We’re trying to build this program up to the highest level possible for Morgan County’s tennis teams,” Perry said. “This year, they all surprised me and impressed me. We deserved that amount of success because of how hard we worked and how well we gelled as a team. I just couldn’t be happier for my players.”