Cats are mentally prepared for second round of state tennis tourney

Published 6:00 pm Thursday, April 20, 2017

For the first time since 2014, Dalton High School’s boys tennis team will play in the second round of a Georgia High School Association state tournament. The Catamounts have made the long trek to Brunswick to face Glynn Academy today at 10 a.m. with a chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.

Dalton is the third seed from Region 6-6A and defeated Winder-Barrow 3-0 in the first round on Wednesday. Glynn Academy is the top seed from Region 2 and defeated Mount Zion-Jonesboro in the first round 5-0.

The Cats have reached this point, coach Jordan Widelock said, by being mentally tough on the court and supportive of one another off it.

“I think one of the biggest things we’ve done well and will need to continue to do is be mentally tough, not getting down on ourselves when things don’t go our way and fighting through adverse situations,” Widelock said. “They have done a really good job of working as a team. When they aren’t on the court they are cheering each other on and they are all motivated because they don’t want to be the one to let their teammates down.”

Dalton is a very experienced team with five seniors holding spots in the starting lineup. Bennett Wills and Wyatt Cushman are two of the elder leaders and play at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Then seniors Alex Reisz and Sam Goetze team up at No. 1 doubles, while the fifth senior is Marshall Phillips, who plays at No. 2 doubles with sophomore Colby Wills. Junior Charlie Alderman is the final starter and plays at No. 3 singles.

That group of seniors were just freshmen the last time Dalton even made a state tournament in 2014. So to get the first round win was special for them as their Dalton careers are coming to a close.

“We’re very excited, we haven’t even gotten to state the past couple years,” Cushman said. “We’ve grown up playing together and play outside of school a lot. We know each others’ game and have confidence in each other. We’re just glad to be back and hope we can keep progressing and go even further.”

Wills said he came into the season confident Dalton could get this far with such an experienced team.

“We expected big things,” he said. “It’s great to come out with a bunch of seniors and to get this far into the postseason.”

Widelock said the depth of the team has given them an edge throughout the season.

“I definitely think one of our biggest strengths is that we are a pretty deep team,” he said. “We faced a lot of teams that were strong at No. 1 or No. 2 spots but weren’t as deep. We’ve had wins at every position throughout the season.”

As they prepare to face Glynn Academy, Widelock said the Cats are peaking at the right time. It began in the region tournament and the momentum continued against the Bulldoggs on Wednesday. While admitting that it won’t come easy, Cushman said he believes Dalton will advance again today.

“We’re expecting a pretty tight match,” he said. “I think our coach and all of us believe we can pull it off, we just have to keep our mental game strong.”

That’s what has gotten the Catamounts this far, and Wills said it won’t change today.

“Our coaches are always preaching that, being consistent and just being mentally stronger than my opponent.” Wills said. “When the match gets long the person who is the toughest mentally wins the match.”