Titans win Granger Invitational; Lady Titans take runner-up

By Robert Taylor

The boys' tennis team won the Granger Invitational Tournament March 16-17 at LaGrange, improving their overall record to 10-2.  En route to the title the Titans handled Harris County on Friday 5-0, and Madison County 3-2 and Holy Innocents 4-1 on Saturday.  The Titans were led by sophomores Peter Bertran and Ray Donovan at Nos. 1 and 2 singles respectively, both going 3-0 throughout the weekend.  Jeff Bautista was also undeated at No. 1 doubles as he teamed up with Seth Taylor on Friday and Stevie Hemerlein on Saturday.  Other Titans notching victories were Kerry Nozum at No. 3 singles, and juniors Chris Saucier and David Sloan at No. 2 doubles.  Sophomore Kendrick Hughes lost a hard-fought battle against Madison County's Ben Strickland on day two.

The Lady Titans began the tournament on fire with a 4-1 win over Northside of Columbus on Friday.  Claiming victories were Becca Bruning at No. 1 singles, Amber Hudson at No. 2, Mary Campbell Cobb at No. 3, and the doubles tandem of senior Alex Barone and freshman Abby Bruning.  They continued their winning ways on Saturday morning as they took down the Madison County Lady Raiders 3-2 on the backs of Bruning, Hudson and Cobb who swept singles play.  However, their title chase came up short as they fell to Lakeside of Augusta on Saturday afternoon, picking up a lone No. 1 doubles victory.  The Lady Titans are now 10-2 overall.                 

North Oconee hosts on Tuesday, March 20 at 4 p.m.