State Championship Quests Begin Tuesday at 25th Spring Fling
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
May 21, 2018
The Spring Fling begins today in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and thanks to last year’s TSSAA reclassification, the 25th annual event will be bigger than ever.
Additional layers of state championship tournaments have been added in soccer and track field. Three Division 1 soccer brackets (Class A, Class AA, Class AAA) are in play for the first time while Division II will feature Class A and Class AA for the first time in track and field.
Here’s a look at local schools and individuals in the field and their path to a state championship.
TENNIS
The Team Tennis competition kicks off the week’s festivities with the Dobyns-Bennett Lady Indians facing two-time Class AAA defending state champion Brentwood in the Division I Large School semi-finals at 2:00 p.m. EDT at the Adams Tennis Complex.
The Lady Bruins defeated Bearden in last year’s championship match, 4-0, for their second straight title. Prior to Brentwood winning two straight, Ravenwood had run off six in row from 2010 to 2015. Science Hill won in 2009.
The team state championship match is set for Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
The Lady Indians’ Lainey Hill and Willa Rogers will begin their quest for a state doubles title on Thursday, facing the Brighton freshman combo of Andi Coulston and MaCauley Jones at 1:30 p.m. A state semi-final match would follow at 5:00 p.m. followed by the championship match Friday morning at 10:00 a.m.
One-half of last year’s defending state champions return for Brentwood in junior Georgia Fischer. Fischer paired with Katie DeWald to win the title last year. Fischer will go for a repeat this year with sophomore Evie Calhoun.
The Lady Indians last won a team title in 2005 and will be going for their fifth state team tennis titles that includes championships in 1978, 1979 and 2004.
All four years, the Lady Tribe also picked up state doubles championships with Margie Brown and Anne Pope winning in 1978 and 1979 and Ali & Amy Beavers winning in 2004 and 2005. Brown also won the singles title in 1978, a double that is no longer allowed by the TSSAA.
On the boys’ side no teams are involved but four individuals will go for state titles later in the week. Sullivan North’s Adam Nelson takes on Trinity Christian’s Will Richardson Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in the Small School Boys Singles bracket while Tennessee High’s Stone Cozart matches up against Knox West’s Alex Austin in the Large School Boys Singles quarterfinals at 1:00 p.m.
Also at 1:00 p.m., the Viking doubles team of David Bieger and Andrew Istfan goes against Ravenwood’s Cliff Herring and Pranav Saravanan.
SOCCER
Dobyns-Bennett (19-0-2) makes its second state tournament trip in three years. The Indians fell in the first round two years ago 2-1 to Ravenwood.
The Tribe drew Blackman in the first round at 5:30 p.m. on Field #2 at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.
It’s a classic case of offense vs. defense in the battle of unbeatens. The Blaze (13-0-1) have scored 24 goals in their last five matches, an average of nearly five tallies per fixture, while the Indians (19-0-2) have surrendered just five goals in their last 16 matches.
The winner will face the winner of the Rossview (15-8) vs Brentwood (13-4-3) match in the semi-finals Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
The top half of the bracket features defending state champion Station Camp (19-2-1) against defending tate runner-up Houston (19-1-2) and Region 1-AAA runner-up and 2016 state champion Bearden (17-5-0) facing Cookeville (18-5-0). The state championship fixture is set for Friday at 2:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Science Hill, Elizabethton and University High are in the Class AAA, Class AA and Class A bracket respectively.
The ‘Toppers (35-7) are in the field for the first time in seven years, but must face Collierville (35-7) at 5:00 p.m. EDT in the first game of the pod hosted by Siegel High School. The Dragons are making their ninth state tournament appearance since 2004 and won the Class AAA state title in 2013.
Collierville is riding a 15-game winning streak that includes 11 shutouts, the last two tossed by Tyler Sherman in a 15-0 regional semi-final win over Whitehaven and a 2-0 sectional victory over Bartlett.
Meanwhile, the ‘Toppers shutout all three opponents last week to reach the state tournament. Garrett Wilkins, who blanked Seymour 7-0 in the Region 1-AAA finals, figures to get the ball against the Dragons.
Also in the Siegel bracket is Rossview (29-12) and the host Stars (30-8) who somehow get to play in another state tournament on their home field. Siegel plays game two at 7:30 p.m., which is doubly interesting since lighting at the Stars’ field has been far from adequate. Dobyns-Bennett had significant issues in night games on the same field in 2013 and 2017. Reports indicate improvements have been recently implemented, but indications are the conditions are still suspect.
Defending state champion Brentwood (26-8) and defending state runner-up Stewarts Creek (21-15) are in the Oakland pod along with Region 1-AAA runner-up Seymour and Arlington (17-11).
In Class AA, Elizabethton (26-8) drew Stewart County (24-6) in the first round at Smyrna High School. Also at Smyrna are Grundy County (23-10) and Riverside (24-9-1).
University High drew perhaps the toughest first-round assignment in any bracket. The Bucs (23-11) will face defending state champion Loretto (31-2), winners of 100 games over the past three years, and potential first-round pick Ryan Weathers at 7:30 p.m. and Middle Tennessee Christian. The left-handed pitcher and Mustang lead-off hitter has signed with Vanderbilt.
TRACK & FIELD
The State Track & Field Meet actually got started last week with the decathlon and pentathlon competition at Austin-Peay University in Clarksville.
The remainder of the meet will be held at the Dean Hayes Soccer and Track Stadium on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
The Division 1 Small School championships are set for Wednesday with the Large School championships to be held on Thursday. Division II Class A and AA will be on Friday.
SOFTBALL
Unaka (28-12) is back in the Class A bracket for a second straight year and fourth time since 2010.
The Lady Rangers will open against Gibson County Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.