Morgan, TA play nearly even

Published 10:40 pm Friday, March 31, 2017

Morgan Academy and Tuscaloosa Academy have battled it out for the last few Alabama Independent School Association tennis championships.

On Thursday, they met for the first time this year and the teams looked fairly evenly matched in both boys and girls tennis.

In boys tennis, No. 1 seed Will Brackin lost to Jackson MerCurio 8-4 and No. 2 seed George Jones fell to Blake Wright 8-1. The other three Senators playing in singles matches — No. 3 seed Mason Perkins, No. 4 Taylor Jones and No. 5 Belal Hammad — all won their matches. Perkins defeated Samuel Morrow 8-4, Taylor Jones shut out Andrew Wade 8-0 and Hammad topped Anderson MerCurio 8-2.

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Morgan and Tuscaloosa also split boys doubles. Jackson MerCurio and Wright beat Brackin and Jones 8-2, but Taylor Jones and Perkins beat Morrow and Wade 8-3.

The Senators’ girls’ tennis team won two singles matches, thanks to two tiebreaker wins by Mary Ashlyn Pearce and Lilly Youngblood. No. 4 seed Pearce won 9-7 over Sarah Stipe and No. 5 seed Youngblood defeated Taylor Wright 9-8.

Anna Milles Fleenoer defeated Morgan No. 1 seed Natalie Cain 8-0; No. 2 seed Abby Fleener won 8-5 over Ellie Adams; and Lizzie Bonhaus won 8-1 over No. 3 Emily Sherrer.

Fleenor and Fleenor combined to top Cain 9-8 in a tiebreaker in a doubles match. Morgan also lost its other doubles match to Bonhaus and Stipe 8-2.