ATLANTA—The girls’ tennis team at Marist School started its state tennis final on May 4 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College, but it was interrupted by rain. On May 7, the match resumed and Marist defeated North Oconee High School 3-2 to capture the Class AAAA state championship. North Oconee had won the state championship the last three consecutive years. It’s the first state tennis title for Marist since 2014 and first under third-year coach Jose Gregory.

If there was a silver lining in postponing the matches from Saturday to Tuesday, it allowed Marist to pick up play on its home courts before a crowd of family and friends.

Coach Gregory described the championship match as a “nail-biter.” Although Marist players knew it would be a tough match against the three-time defending champions, they believed it would be possible if they executed their game plan and fought for every single point.

The match results follow:

1st singles – Anya Nelson (Marist) defeated Lindsay Tulenko 7-5, 7-5.

2nd singles – Jenna Tulenko (North Oconee) defeated Lucy Kalbas 6-2, 6-0.

3rd singles – Aleksandra Tucakovic (North Oconee) defeated Isabella Hay 6-4, 6-4.

1st doubles – Ansley Reynolds and Emma Fletcher (Marist) defeated Amanda Bounds and Charlotte Hudson 6-4, 7-5.

2nd doubles – Dylan Rose Elledge and Katie Gerrick (Marist) defeated Anna Clausen and Hannah Lerch 6-0, 6-0.

“We are all very proud of our girls,” said Coach Gregory. “They worked hard throughout the entire season and extremely well as a team.”

Marist finished the season with a record of 19-3-1.