The Auburn Eagles pose with the Class 1 team championship trophy after defeating Rappahannock on Saturday. Team members competing in the match were Taylor Reed, Emma Wilson, Molly McMichael, Hailey Gordon, Ali Sparrer, Anya Robbins, Sara Nichols, and Anna Wilson.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
The Auburn High School girls tennis team kept busy over the weekend as they reached the mountaintop and brought home the Class 1 state championship.
In a matter of three days, they picked up possibly the biggest wins in the program history.
Additionally, senior Taylor Reed added the singles championship Friday at the Virginia Tech tennis complex.
The season has been filled with lots of success for the team and Reed. The school joined a new district (the Mt. Empire), but the new competition didn’t faze the Lady Eagles. They rolled through the district championship and set the stage for the state playoff run.
Auburn’s Taylor Reed makes a baseline return against J.I. Burton’s Kira Sturgill on Thursday morning at Virginia Tech during a Class 1 state semifinal match.
Taylor said winning an individual state title was incredible but also unbelievable. She defeated Chloe Sanderson of Mathews 7-5, 6-0 on Friday afternoon.
“I’ve never done something like that in my entire life. It took a lot of hard work, determination, and prayers. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my loved ones, my team, my assistant Coach D, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without my head coach, Coach Nester. Coach Nester believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and he always pushed me to be the best player that I could be. I’ll always be in debt to him for giving me the opportunity to play on his team and reach a goal I never imagined was possible,” she said.
Add the extra hardware on Saturday in a 5-2 win over Rappahannock, and it wasn’t a bad weekend for Auburn who got singles wins from Reed, Haley Gordon, Ali Sparrer and Anya Robbins. Sara Nichols and Anna Wilson then picked up a doubles win for the final margin.
“Winning a team title on top of an individual title is indescribable it’s almost too good to be true. The team couldn’t have asked for a better ending to an outstanding season. I was so proud of the team for their dedication and their strong effort,” Reed said. “She has been on the Auburn tennis team since her freshman year but when she was little her mom and sister would go out to the courts and play. “I just run around and chase tennis balls, little did I know I’d be on a state winning team in the future.”
Reed believes the tennis program has been so successful this year because of the determination each player has shown.
“When we set out Saturday morning headed to VT, each of us was prepared to play our hearts out. Not only did we want to win, but we wanted to prove that we had what it took to take home the state title,” she said.
For her future, Reed is headed to Radford University in the fall with plans to major in Interdisciplinary Education and become a first-grade teacher.
