About The Sylvania times. (Sylvania, Ga.) 2022-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2024)
thesylvaniatimes.com The Sylvania Times Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - Page 3 TENNIS TEAMS ROLL INTO REGION TOURNAMENT LADY GAMECOCKS STEAMROLLED THROUGH LAST WEEK GAMECOCK NETTERS WINNING STREAK AT FOUR Steamrolling their way to three 5-0 wins last week, including two of their three regular season region matches, the SCHS Lady Gamecock netters of Kyle Reynolds improved to 8-5 overall, 2-0 in 3-A Dl. Scheduled to finish region play when Bryan County came to the SCHS courts yesterday, the team awaits its next matches in the region tournament in Claxton on March 26. The Lady Gamecocks will be shooting for their fourth consecutive region title. While it was not quite as dominating as their previous region win over Metter, it was still decisive as the Lady Gamecocks whipped homestanding Claxton 5-0 last Friday. Lyla Johnson (6-1, 6-2), Caroline Boswell (6-0, 6-1), and Emma Rose Griner (6-3, 6-0) won easily at singles while the doubles teams of Garyn Howard/ Jayla Lovett (6-1, 6-0) and Nicole Zheng/ Ryland Reynolds (6-1, 6-4) finished the sweep Opening region opponent Metter provided the Lady Gamecocks with little opposition in a 5- 0 straight set win on March 12 on the SCHS courts. It was Johnson (6-0, 6-0), Boswell (6- 1, 6-0), Griner (6-2, 6-2), Kerrigan Bogart/ Reynolds (6-2, 6-2), and Howard/Lovett (6-0, 6- 0). A trip to Wrightsville on Wednesday to face the 2023 Class A D2 state mnner-up Johnson County Lady Trojans saw the Lady Gamecocks return home with an impressive 5-0 win. JoCo did graduate three seniors but there are still a number of returnees. Winning were Johnson (6-1, 6-4), Boswell (6-0, 4-6, 12-10), Griner (6-1, 6-1), Bogart/Reynolds (6-0, 6-0), and Howard/Lovett (6-1, 6-0). With the region tournament coming up next week individual records for the Lady Gamecocks have Johnson at 9-4, Boswell at 10-3, and Griner at 7-6. All three have started every match at their respective singles slots. Five players have participated in combinations of seven different doubles teams, combining for a 14-12 record. Most of the season has seen Howard, Lovett, Bogart, and Reynolds, but Zheng moved into the lineup in Claxton. The third doubles team of freshman Aleyiyanna Blount and sophomore Nicole Zheng battle. Zheng moved to number two last week (photo by Dana Doss) Freshman Caroline Boswell (10-3 at #2 singles) hands the ball off to Burke County's Bridgett Sloop (photo by Dana Doss) Junior Tucker Thomas (6-5 as part of four doubles combinations) reaches for a forehand (photo by Dana Doss) Winners of four straight to raise their record to 8-5 on the season, the SCHS Gamecocks of Kyle Reynolds gained shutout wins in their first two region matches last week. Bryan County was here yesterday for the final regular season 3-A Dl match before SCHS hosts the boys region tournament on March 27. On that date the team will be looking to claim its fourth consecutive region title. Avoiding the rain to finish their second region match of the week, SCHS faced Claxton’s homestanding Tigers who were unable to fill a full lineup as they had no number two doubles. The Gamecocks lost but one game as singles players John Boswell, JD Hall, and Noah Boykin all won kby shutout while Josh PateFWhit Morgan were 6-1, 6-0 winners. The region lidlifter on March 12 went exactly as expected, an absolute cakewalk for the Gamecocks. Winning 60 of 62 games, the Roosters claimed three 6-0, 6-0 wins - Boswell, Hall, and Patel/Morgan - with Boykin and Bo Doss/Tucker Thomas each losing a single game. In their pair of region matches last week the Red and White won 108 of 111 games played. In Wrightsville on March 13 the Gamecocks faced a nonregion Johnson County Trojan team that reached the state quarterfinals in Class A D2 in 2023 and used two third set tiebreakers to claim a 3-2 win. While the very ending was rather anticlimactic, a 6-4, 6-0 win by Boykin at number three singles, the overall match was very entertaining for fans. JoCo won the first two matches completed with Boswell falling 5-7, 3-6 and two doubles (Thomas/Michael Weaver) falling 2-6,1-6. SCHS won the remaining three matches, including three setters for Hall (6-3, 4-6, 12-10) and PatePMorgan (5-7, 6-4, 10-3) and, when Boykin won, the Red and White had a three set win. Through the team’s 13 matches records show Boswell at 7-5, Hall at 9-2, and Boykin at 8-2. Nine different combinations of doubles teams have been fielded by Reynolds using Boykin, Morgan, Thomas, Patel, Weaver, Kade Chandler, and Doss. The nine different teams have struggled to a 13-12 record. Freshman JD Hall (9-2 mostly at #2) prepares to return a volley (photo by Dana Doss) ALAILAH SCOTT NAMED GBCA ALL STATE SCHS senior Alailah Scott was named to the Georgia Basketball Coaches Association All State team last week. She led the team in scoring this season with a 15.8 ppg average. She finished her career with 928 points and 145 three-pointers, second best all time (photo by Francina Sanders) RED AND WHITE COMPETE IN FIRST TRACK MEET After a lengthy wait the SCHS Gamecock and Lady Gamecock track teams opened their 2024 season last Thursday in Metter. The teams will be back in action tomorrow in Claxton beginning at 3:30. Last week’s meet included SCHS, host Metter, and Jenkins County. In their opening meet each team finished third. First place finishes for the boys went to Amaree Bulloch (1st in the 400 with 51.08), TaCorey Grant (tied for 1st in the high jump with 5-10), and the 4x1 relay (44.4). Jordan Gresham was second behind Bulloch in the 400, Luke Sowell was second in the 1600, Grant was third in the long jump, AJ Beths was third in the 200 and second in the high jump, and Braylan Brown was third in the 300 hurdles. Leading the way for the Lady Gamecocks, who picked up a trio of first places were Jaliah Roberts (1st in the shot with 30-8 and 1st in the discus with 81-5) and Brianna Roberts (1st in the 100 hurdles at 17.66). Others who gained points for SCHS were Gabby Jackson (3rd in the shot), Kaziah Kirkland (3rd in the high jump), Jasiya Webb (2nd in the 400), and the 4x1 relay of Jaliah Roberts, Brianna Roberts, Kiarah Scott, and Webb. AR&UNJM MORE ON REGION PLAY, THE H&M MARCH MADNESS AND FILLER The three week Region 3-A Dl baseball schedule that consists of three, three-game series, got started last week and, if anything was learned, this is going to be an interesting schedule. Our washout in Metter on Friday could make it really, really, interesting. That make-up game, sometime after the final regularly scheduled region game on March 29, could decide all sorts of things, possibly every spot in the standings. Claxton, outscored 120-4 by the three current members of 3-A Dl a year ago, pushed Bryan County (6-5 and 8-4) in two of their three losses to the Redskins last week. They could be a spoiler. Something to look at, I just don’t believe that anyone is going to rough roughshod through the region, 7-2, if Claxton pulls an upset (just not against us), might do it. When I write for the paper next week the season will be two-thirds over and when you read that paper, except for make ups, the season will be 89% over. Man time flies in four team regions. We do thank Savannah High for not fielding a team to complicate things Augusta-style. You will read more about this in the April 3 Sylvania Times after the tennis teams have won their fourth consecutive region titles on March 26 (girls) and March 27 (boys). Do you realize that the tennis teams have gone unbeaten in region play during the four years in Class A? That trend may continue for the 2025 and 2026 seasons as well. We will see. Can’t count those Cockerels and Pullets until they hatch. Neither tennis team has lost a region match since April 1, 2019. On that date the boys lost the 3-AA tournament semifinal to A. R. Johnson Magnet and the girls lost the 3-AA tournament championship to Davidson Fine Arts. Both of those were stunners. Metter is in the driver’s seat in soccer and Woodville-Tompkins is probably going to be the odd team out at playoff time for the second season in a row. The final playoff arrangement is going to come down to the last day - Tuesday, March 26 when we go to Metter and Claxton goes to Bryan County. We currently sit in fourth place; a position to which we are very unaccustomed. Now healthy, I look for us to finish strong. A repeat championship is going to be very, very tough. Look for some tie breakers to enter the picture after that last day. In a tie, the things to remember are head-to-head, goals allowed in head-to- head, and goal differential in head-to-head (maximum of three goals per game). There are more. Well March Madness is upon us. Who do you have? Who do I have? I have no one in particular. An underdog is always a lot of fun - a 16, a 15, or even a 14 seed. My big line is just not someone from the Big Ten or the northeast. The SEC is preferable. A team from the swansong season for the PAC 12 is okay too. Burton Kemp Unless otherwise noted all articles in Sports are written by Burton Kemp, Sports Editor My wishes are the same for girls or boys. It would be fun to see the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV return to prominence, but not this season. Professional baseball season is upon us again. The Braves are stacked and sure to make the playoffs. Hopefully they won’t go cold all at one time again. As I still have DISH and they do not carry Bally Sports, my chances to watch the Braves will be few and far between. Colleges are into conference play at this point. If their first series is any indication, GSU is not going to be a strong contender in the Sun Belt. Maybe come tournament time things will start to click. UGA softball is very, very strong, ranked 5th as I write this. Unfortunately Oklahoma is number one. Did you notice that Sun Belt member Louisiana Lafayette ended the Lady Sooners winning streak? You can tell by the content of some of the paragraphs in this column that it was another one of those week’s with nothing in particular jumping into my head. The playoff talk is maybe a week early. The late, greatest of Gamecock athletic fans, Carol Schroeder often told me that she depended on my column to understand how the future playoff scenarios looked for the various sports at SCHS. I always say that I never know just how many or how few folks read my column. I always knew that she did.
