MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The sister connection was highly evident Friday at the Middle Tennessee State tennis courts. Arts & Sciences twins Ahmee and Kayla Kelly got to experience the joy of winning a state tennis championship side by side, as sisters and doubles partners.

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee’s Sadie Shackelford won her second consecutive Division II-A state title, at the expense of her sister Avery.

And Knoxville Webb senior Guinn Garcia teamed with her freshman sister Vicki for a 6-1, 6-0 championship win in Division II-AA.

The Kellys used their blend of speed and power to defeat another sister combination — Clarksville Academy’s Brittany and Julie Covington — 6-2, 6-4 in the Class A/AA final, the first doubles championship in CSAS history.

“It was such a great feeling,” Kayla said. “It might have seemed like we lost, because I burst into tears when we won that last point, but for all these years, CSAS had never won and we had kept all that emotion in and it was all coming out. When we won, I just released all that emotion out.”

It made the moment even more special that the sisters won it together.

“It’s rewarding to have someone there that you had played tennis with your whole life,” Ahmee said. “All that work paid off. It makes it easier to appreciate it, because I know where she’s been and she knows where I’ve been.”

Kayla admitted that Ahmee had the cooler head on the court.

“I lost my head out there, but I was thankful to have ‘MeMe’ out there,” Kayla said. “She keeps her composure out there.”

Now that they’ve won the title together, it’s time to scatter apart. Ahmee will be back in Murfreesboro for Girls’ State next week, while Kayla will be attending a basketball camp at Bryan College.

“We were thinking about playing in the USTA qualifying but just don’t think we’ll have time,” Kayla said.

For the Shackelford sisters, their match was like any other practice, with one little twist: This practice was for the state title, won by Sadie, 6-4, 6-3.

“There was no pressure out there for either of us,” Sadie said. “We could go out there and play tomorrow. Since I won last year, I guess I felt the need to win again, but Avery is tough — she always makes me want to fight.”

The Shackelfords will introduce sister Michaela, a rising eighth-grader, to the Division II-A circuit next year.

“It’s going to make us a better team next year,” Avery said.

“I treated this like I would if my own players were playing,” said mother Conchie, the University of the South women’s tennis coach. “I had no feelings either way, but it was a good match and I was happy to see that.”

Comments