Four seniors have played a predominant role on Radford High School’s girls tennis team, which will battle Maggie Walker for a Class 2 state championship. Pictured are: (from left) Logan Graham, Keliegh Cormany, Sarah Ward and Mallory Wood.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Dynasty could easily be the word to describe the girls tennis program at Radford High School. They are in today’s state finals for the fourth consecutive year.
Of course, the past three have been in Class 1. This year, the school moved up to Class 2 due to an increase in student enrollment, thus introducing a lot of new competition, but the same result—another district and regional championship and a chance to show the state how dominant they really are.
The feat has included a run that has been hard to match as the past four years include two state crowns and one runner up.
From the beginning of the 2015-2016 season until this past Monday, the girls have won over 50 consecutive matches dropping their first match on May 7 to Blacksburg High School.
Wins during this time include 4A schools like E.C. Glass as well as Tennessee High School (a school much bigger than Radford).
Also, it should be noted that the Blacksburg girls team made the state quarterfinals before being knocked out earlier this week.
Logan Graham won the individual singles and double title last year in 1A, as well as helping to lead the Bobcats to another team trophy along the way.
She said it’s been an amazing experience having been so successful the past couple of years.
“Being able to win state titles with my teams has been one of the best parts of my high school athletic career. I have been able to be so successful because I had great coaches, great teammates and a ton of support from everybody. Tennis is a sport that takes continuous practice, and I believe my success comes from the many hours I have spent on the court bettering my game,” Graham said.
Graham is one of four seniors that have been there for all the glitz and the glamor and all the bright times. The others are Mallory Wood, Keliegh Cormany and Sarah Ward.
Coach and RCPS Superintendent Rob Graham said the four have done a lot on and off the courts.
“Despite all of their accomplishments in tennis, these four girls, as well as those who have played with them during their careers, are just phenomenal young ladies. I am certainly proud of all the goals they have met in their tennis careers, but even more proud of who they are and the potential they have to be very successful as they move on to the next chapters in their lives,” he said.
But the success on the court has not come without a lot of hard work.
“I definitely think that shows on the courts so not only has it been awesome to win, it’s also been awesome to grow closer with my teammates. And it has taken a lot to be successful. People don’t realize it but we practice on some Saturdays early in the morning and we practice before and after some of our matches,” Ward said. “We also work very hard during practice every day and we obviously couldn’t do it without our coach who constantly pushes use even if sometimes its past our breaking point.”
Moving up to the new classification also presented a new challenge.
“Since Radford moved up from Class 1 to Class 2 this year, we weren’t sure how far we would make it. We were hopeful, but we knew the competition would be a little tougher. We played some larger schools at the beginning of the season to help us prepare,” Wood said.
Looking back, Cormany simply describes her time and success as fun.
“The last few years have been a lot of fun. Having the opportunity to play the sport you love with your best friends is an irreplaceable experience and I feel so lucky to have been a part of such a successful program,” she said on Thursday.
Wood agreed the group is not just teammates but great friends. “We have worked extremely hard and several of us have gotten to experience making it to the finals for the past four years. Regardless of who wins, I couldn’t ask to be in the finals with a better group of girls and coaching staff,” she said.
The Lady Cats were scheduled to face state-tennis power Maggie Walker this morning to decide the Class 2 championship. They will play on a Radford University court where they have tasted much success and hoping there at least one more victory left in the tank.
The team is coached by Mark Sarver, Suzanne and Rob Graham.