Madison County (9-5, 8-2) kept itself in contention for a coveted no. 1 seed in the region tournament, toppling Habersham Central 3-2 Tuesday.
The Raiders finished 8-2 in the subregion, but their positioning in the region tournament wasn’t determined at press time. Madison County hosts the region tournament which starts today (Thursday).
“The boys played a tough opponent very well coming out on top this time,” coach Keith Strickland said of Tuesday’s win.
Strickland noted Marcus Bowen’s marathon three-set win at no. 1 singles (7-5, 6-7, 7-5), while both doubles teams finished out three-set matches with dominating performances in the final sets.
Prior to beating Habersham Central, the Raiders lost a close subregion battle to Winder-Barrow, April 9, with the visiting Bulldoggs taking the top two singles and no. 1 doubles matches to edge Madison County.
Two of the three Raider loses came in three-set affairs, including a lively match at no. 1 doubles.
Strickland called that encounter “the most dramatic match of the day.”
After dropping the first set 7-5, the tandem of Jake Scarborough and Chris Dove won a tie-breaker to take the second set. However, Scarborough suffered leg cramps in the final set and the team could not hold on.
Madison County picked up wins from Blaise Boleman at no. 3 singles and Connor Hancock and Josh Dooley at no. 2 doubles.
Boleman won his match in three sets (3-6, 6-4, 6-4).
“Blaise Bolemon continues to amaze me with his drive to win,” Strickland said. “He never seems to get frustrated and knows how to stay in a match.”
Hancock and Dooley won easily in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. “Connor and Josh capped an already great week with a straight set win to finish the week at 4-0,” Strickland noted.
A day earlier, Madison County swept doubles play and notched a win at no. 3 singles to down Clarke Central 3-2.
