By Greg Sullivan
Sports Editor

The Morgan County High School boys and girls tennis teams earned spots at state, but didn't hang around long in tournament play as they ran into some tough competition on Thursday.
The boys team suffered losses to Greater Atlanta Christian and the girls fell to Wesleyan as both teams faced first round eliminations.
Still, tennis Head Coach Jim Fowler said he was proud of the way the team did this year, particularly in the recent region tournaments where the boys team finished second place and the girls took third.
"I was very proud of the guys to dig deep and win some hard-fought matches to place second in region this year," Fowler said. "I hope that the experiences through this year show the underclassmen how much dedication and practice tennis requires to play at a high and competitive level."
At region play on April 17 the boys took second by beating Banks and Rabun County before finally being defeated by North Oconee in the region championship.
Beating Banks for the boys were Allen Conner at first singles, Daniel Smith at second singles, Logan Plumly at third singles. All other matches were pulled once the Dogs won three games to lock up the win.
Beating Rabun for the Dogs were Conner, Smith and also Blake Brand and Dillon Lewis who picked up a win at second doubles.
For the girls, in their win over Rabun County, winners were Courtney Perry at first singles, Mary Helen Trulock at second singles and also Emily Jones and Katherine Cooper at second doubles.
The girls fell in a tough match to Fannin, Fowler said, to pick up third place in the region, still qualifying them for state.