The Henryetta Golden Knight varsity tennis team came away with a 4-way tie for seventh at the 2023 Class 4A state tennis championships this past weekend in Oklahoma City.
The Knights finished the 2-day state tournament with a team total of four points and were tied for seventh with Regent Prep, Elk City, and Pauls Valley.
The top finishers for the Knights at the state tennis tournament was the No. 1 Doubles team of Sheldon Andrews and Brayden Jones. The Knight tandem came away with a seventh-place finish at the 2-day event, earning a straight-set win over Metro Christian’s Bartels and Huntley in the seventh-place match.
Andrews and Jones began their state tournament appearance with a straight-set victory over Brandt and Brandt of Oklahoma Christian School, then dropped a 3-set decision to Byng’s Goodman and Lacey in the quarterfinal round on Friday.
The No. 1 Doubles duo overcame the quarterfinal loss with a straight-set win over Kohen and Tran of Classen SAS in the consolation quarterfinals.
The Knight tandem saw their bid for a Top 5 finish end with a 3-set loss to Mahl and Robinson of Elk City in the consolation semifinals.
In No. 1 Singles action, Ethan Lovell kicked off his state tournament appearance with a straight-set win over William Berry of Oklahoma City Douglass, then fell into the consolation side of the bracket with a straightset loss to Mason Fair of Classen SAS in the quarterfinals.
Lovell rebounded from the quarterfinal defeat with a straight-set win over Anadarko’s James Coombes in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
Lovell’s dreams of finishing in the Top 5 in No. 1 Singles came up one win short, falling in straight sets to Metro Christian’s Jack Michalcik in Saturday’s consolation semifinals.
Lovell ended his state tournament participation with a loss to Harrah’s Alex Peterson in the seventh-place match.
In No. 2 Singles action, Nick Hudson began his state tournament appearance with a straight-set win over John McCarthy of Anadarko in his opening-round matchup.
Hudson’s dreams of an individual state championship were thwarted in the quarterfinals, falling in straight sets to Classen SAS’s Ian Wu.
Hudson overcame the quarterfinal loss with a straight-set win over Pauls Valley’s Angel Reyes in the consolation quarterfinals then dropped a 3-set meeting with Harrah’s Christian Swan in the consolation semifinals.
Hudson’s state tournament participation came to a close with a loss to Harrison Anders of Christian Heritage in the seventh-place match.
The final participants for the Knights at the 2-day event were the No. 2 Doubles team of Connor Matlock and Jayson Scott.
Matlock and Scott began their tournament action with a straight-set loss to Strunk and Waggner of Crossings Christian in Friday’s opening-round matchup.
The HHS duo overcame their firstround loss with a straight-set win over Wagoner’s Lemonds and Perez in the consolation first round.
The Knight tandem’s state participation came to an abrupt end with a straight-set loss to Choate and Hamilton of Pauls Valley in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday.
Crossings Christian took home the Class 4A team championship trophy at the 2-day event, followed by Riverfield Country Day School as the 4A state runner-up. Classen SAS was third overall, followed by Byng in fourth and Christian Heritage in fifth.
