Catherine Jordan, Cleveland, tennisPlayer of the Year
Catherine Jordan
All of Jordan's hard work on the tennis court paid big dividends in 2011, as the Cleveland senior advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class AAA state singles tournament. Jordan was 18-3 and claimed District 5-AAA and Region 3 championships, and she leaves as a two-time defending district champion who was on two state-tournament teams.
"Catherine is very well-deserving of this award," Cleveland coach Elizabeth Davis said. "Not only because of her success, but her dedication to work on her game all year long. She has a passion and a love of the game, and after playing No. 1 singles for Cleveland since sixth grade, it's nice to see all of that hard work pay off."
David Eason, Gordon Lee, tennisCoach of the Year
David Eason
Eason knew his 28th Gordon Lee girls' team was going to be fairly strong, but he wasn't sure what sort of success that would translate into after the Lady Trojans were reclassified into a region with some good Atlanta-area teams. But they finished second in Georgia Region 6-A with a 14-3 record, with two losses coming to region champion Darlington and the third to Providence Christian in the second round of the Class A state playoffs.
"We had a lot of girls that came in and did a good job for us this year," Eason said. "I felt we'd have a good team, but with the region being strong, I wasn't sure how we'd fare. The girls were strong, though, and I thought that we could play with anybody we faced."
First Team
Kelsey Cantrell, Cleveland, tennisKelsey Cantrell
Cleveland
Senior
Cantrell finished 17-0 in singles and advanced to the state in both singles and doubles during her career.
Kate Hutchinson, Calhoun, tennisKate Hutchinson
Calhoun
Senior
The Tusculum signee was 17-1 and helped the Lady Yellow Jackets reach the Georgia playoffs' second round.
Gordon Lee's Allison King poses in the Times Free Press studio Wednesday.Allison King
Gordon Lee
Senior
King finished 15-2 for the Lady Trojans, playing No. 1 singles.
Jodie Rice, Calhoun, tennis.Jodie Rice
Calhoun
Senior
Rice finished 16-1 for the Lady Yellow Jackets, who advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
Sadie Shackelford, SAS, tennis.Sadie Shackelford
St. Andrew's-Sewanee
Junior
The two-time Division II-A state champion and three-time finalist was 14-2 and a singles semifinalist in 2011.
Taylor Thompson, McMinn, tennis.Taylor Thompson
McMinn County
Junior
She finished 10-3 playing No. 1 singles and was a District 5-AAA and Region 3 doubles runner-up.
Doubles
Esha Rock (senior) / Kelsey Cantrell (senior), Cleveland
Taylor Thompson (junior) / Victoria Williams (junior), McMinn County
Madison Hilley (freshman) / Brenna Nation (junior), Gordon Lee
Kelly Jones (junior) / Lindsey Hannah (junior), LaFayette
Teams of the Year
--1. CALHOUN (17-1) The Lady Yellow Jackets won Georgia's Region 7-AA and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
--2. CLEVELAND (16-1) The Lady Raiders won Tennessee's District 5-AAA and Region 3-AAA but were defeated in a Class AAA sectional.
--3. GORDON LEE (14-3) The Lady Trojans finished second in Georgia's Region 6-A and advanced to the second round of the Class A playoffs.
Second team
Victoria Anderson Gordon Lee Senior
Madeline Ensley LaFayette Sophomore
Kelyse Mauldin Gordon Lee Junior
Esha Rock Cleveland Senior
Michaela Shackelford St. Andrew's-Sewanee Freshman
Victoria Williams McMinn County Junior