Eagles duo take 1st at districts; Liberty's Floray earns state bid

LIBERTY — Senior Lily Reeder and sophomore Georgia Carter made history for the Liberty North girls tennis team as the doubles team became the first state qualifiers in Eagles history. The duo won the Class 3 District 8 doubles championship at individual districts on Friday, Oct. 2.

Reeder and Carter handled their first match with ease to earn their bid youthe state tournament,  but the team dropped the first set in the finals before roaring back with two straight sets to win the doubles crown.

"I feel like that really helped us as doubles partners," Carter said. "We know that if we set our minds to it, we can win."

Reeder added: "We were just making good shots, good plays ... just making them move and then make them hit shots that we can attack."

LIBERTY

Blue Jays senior Rebecca Floray punched her ticket to state with a second place finish in singles at the individuals districts event on Friday.

Floray had a first round bye before winning 6-0, 6-1 in round two. Her first set in the semifinals went to tiebreak but she dominated the match from there in a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 win. Floray had a much harder time against Staley senior Claire Thimgan in the final. Thimgan, who finished fourth in Class 2 singles at state last year, defeated Floray in 6-0, 6-1.

Sophomore Claire Hamilton placed third at the event. She earned a 6-2, 6-2 victory in the first round and 6-3, 6-2 in the second. Her bid for a state berth was ended by Thimgan, who won 6-0, 6-0.

Both of Liberty’s doubles teams lost in the quarterfinals. Sophomore Melina Thomas and junior Rowen Jensen lost 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) while sophomore Carly Loomis and freshman Grace Ford fell 6-4, 6-1.