RHS tennis sweeps Athens

By Staff
Mike Self FCT Sports Editor
The Russellville High School boys and girls tennis teams continued their strong play early in the 2006 season with a sweep of Athens on Thursday.
Sophomore T.J. Drake led the way with a 10-0 win at No. 1 singles for the Golden Tiger boys, who improved to 5-0 on the season by beating Athens 7-2. Eighth-grader Kiefer Rea won 10-3 at No. 2 singles, and sophomore John Tyler Hardin was a 10-5 winner at No. 3.
Freshman Tyler Malone earned a 10-8 win at No. 4 singles, and sophomore Jacob Hill won his No. 5 singles match 10-3. Sophomore Anthony Turner also won 10-3 at No. 6 singles.
Hardin and Hill won for Russellville at No. 2 doubles.
The Russellville girls defeated Athens 8-1 on Thursday, improving their record to 2-2 on the year.
Lindsay Cole won 10-8 for Russellville at No. 1 singles, and Jennifer Fennel won 10-4 at No. 2. Olivia Turner and Grace Hagedorn won their matches 10-5 at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively.
Calli Davis was a 10-3 winner at No. 6 singles.
The Lady Golden Tigers won all three doubles matches, with Cole and Davis winning at No. 1, Fennel and Shayna Glasgow winning at No. 2, and Turner and Hagedorn winning at No. 3.
Thursday's rout of Athens was just the latest in a long line of convincing wins for Russellville's boys. They have also defeated Buckhorn (9-0), Florence (7-2 and 6-3), and Muscle Shoals (8-1).
The Golden Tigers also placed fifth out of 21 teams at a tournament in Decatur two weeks ago.
Russellville's varsity tennis teams are not alone in their success. The Golden Tiger junior varsity boys entered the weekend with a 4-0 record, and the j.v. girls were 3-1.
Russellville's tennis coach is Jimmy Rea.