Byng team turns in solid showing at state
May 8—OKLAHOMA CITY — Competing in a stacked field at the Class 4A State Tennis Tournament — which included state champion Ada — the Byng Lady Pirates finished seventh in the team standings.
The state tournament was hosted by the Oklahoma City Tennis Center.
"Class 4A tennis was a lot harder than last year with Ada dropping down and another private school — the Casady Cyclones — joining the OSSAA," explained Byng head coach Toby Sanders.
"Even if we didn't finish as high as we did last year, I'm still very proud of the girls," he continued. "I feel like all of them competed to the best of their abilities, even the ones that didn't place. We had a great year."
Ada won the state title with 25 points, edging Christian Heritage Academy who was runner-up with 24. Casady finished third at 22.
Byng's solid season included a runner-up finish to Christian Heritage Academy in regional play (by only three points) and four tournament championships.
"We are looking forward to a few days off and then starting back up with summer camps. We will miss our only senior, Harmoni Moore, but look forward to seeing the rest of the girls improve next year," Sanders said.
No. 1 Singles
After falling into the consolation bracket with a loss to Casady's Emillia Mantilla, Byng's Yocelin Hernandez bounced back with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kallie Jeffrey of Mt. Saint Mary.
McKinley Brewer then eliminated Hernandez with a 6-1, 6-1 victory in the consolation quarterfinals.
No. 1 Doubles
After rolling past Oklahoma Bible Academy's Edwards-Ray 6-2, 6-1 in the first round, the Byng No. 1 Doubles team of Audrey Boatright and Jayci Cole dropped a tough 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 decision to Casady's Ava Sachdev and Leela Walia.
Boatright and Cole then reeled off three straight victories to capture fifth place. They knocked off a team from Lincoln Christian 6-1, 6-0, topped a team from Regent Prep by the same score and defeated Chloe Minihan and Reid Lovelace of Crossings Christian 6-1, 6-3 in the fifth-place matchup.
No. 2 Doubles
The Byng duo of Emily Holloway and Harmoni Moore defeated Niva Hapani and Haya Zupair of Casady 6-2, 6-2 to capture third place in their division.
Holloway and Moore blanked Carli Thomas and Allison Pendley 6-0, 6-0 in the first round before pushing past the Elk City combo of Anna Galloway and Analiese Whittington 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Kieley Holladay and Kendra Condict turned back Moore and Holloway 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 in a marathon semifinal matchup.
