CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The state tournament for high school tennis is underway this week, starting Thursday, and several boys and girls players from Montgomery County are slated to compete.
Montgomery County has five participants in the state tournament. Three student-athletes will play in singles matches, and there will be one pair competing in a doubles match.
| School | Match Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Milton Gruen | MCHS | Singles |
| Ayden Kujawa | CA | Singles |
| Larissa Nogueria | RHS | Singles |
| Sawyer Jones | NWHS | Doubles |
| Justin Freeburg | NWHS | Doubles |
Milton Gruen of Montgomery Central will participate in the Division-I Class AA boys state tournament. He enters singles competition undefeated with a record of 17-0 during the season. Gruen was the District 13 AA boys singles champion and the Region 7 boys singles champion. He will face Daniel Haddadin of Science Hill in the first round of the state tournament. The winner will move on to the semifinals.
Gruen also went 11-1 in doubles play with his partner Drake Castleberry. Their only defeat came against Sawyer Jones and Justin Freeburg of Northwest High, who are in the state tournament themselves for doubles play.
Jones and Freeburg are also undefeated. As a team, Northwest High was defeated in their regional tournament. However, the two did not let their season end there. Jones and Freeburg will meet Coleton Terry and Jackson Gibson of Walker Valley in the first round of the Division-I Class AA doubles tournament.
Girls state competition
There are two girls tennis players set to compete in the state tournament.
Larissa Nogueria of Rossview will compete in singles action. Nogueria has a 18-2 record with her two losses coming against state qualifying players. She will face Lexi Bryant of Science Hill in the Division-I Class AA bracket. The match will kick off in the morning, with a chance to move on to the semifinals that afternoon.
Ayden Kujawa of Clarksville Academy is set to compete in the opening round of the Division-I Class A state tournament. The Austin Peay commit will face Zoeya Kahn of Lausanne in singles play. If Kujawa comes away with the victory, she will move on to the state semifinals.