On October 28, the talented Leesville women’s tennis doubles team of Helen Alvis, sophomore, and Kylie Rigsby, senior, shined at the NCHSAA 4A State Championship at Millbrook Exchange Park.
The two advanced to the semifinals of the doubles tournament, but lost to Jenna Knors and Karen Galush of Cardinal Gibbons, the eventual state champions, 6-0, 6-1.
En route to the semifinals, Alvis and Rigsby convincingly defeated Relly Major and Alka Tornar of Green Hope in the first round 6-3, 6-2, and then beat the duo of Halle Futch and Emily Holderness from Myers Park in the quarterfinals 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
To compete at states, the duo first had to qualify for and advance out of the 4A East Regional. Alvis and Rigsby successfully qualified for regionals by placing third at the CAP-7 conference meet, and then finished third in the doubles rounds at regionals to advance to the state tournament.
Heading into states, Alvis was just glad that her and Rigsby had qualified for the tournament. However, Alvis believed from the beginning that they could advance far into the rounds.
“I thought we could definitely make it to the final four and we did that,” said Alvis. “We accomplished [our goal].”
Although her and Rigsby eventually lost, Alvis was proud that the two had played solid matches during the state tournament.
“It was really good the first two rounds,” said Alvis. “We had a tight match in the second round, so it was really good there. That was one of our best matches.”
Alvis and Rigsby both enjoyed the ride to states, using their newfound team chemistry they found this year to place well at the conference, regional, and state championships.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Alvis.
Leave a Reply