Williamstown’s Brady Woodard approaches the net for a forehand return during a Class AA/A state semifinal single match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

CHARLESTON — Area tennis players crushed it Friday at the State Tournament.

On Championship Saturday, the tennis gods played an evil trick on those same individuals.

At the Kanawha City Community Center, a total of four Williamstown entries and a singles player from Wood County Christian were seeking to advance into the Class AA/A finals for their respective brackets.

Unfortunately, all five were eliminated in the semifinal round.

“We were on fire Friday and today our tire blew out,” Williamstown coach Diana Leo said.

Williamstown’s Woodburn twin sisters, Addison (left) and Peyton, walk onto the court for the start of their Class AA/A state semifinal doubles match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

However, one day does not make a season.

The weekend featured a first-ever girls state title for Williamstown after the Yellowjackets won the team competition on Friday followed by a runner-up finish by their boys team.

“We are so proud of being here – there is nothing to be disappointed about,” Leo continued. “We have been having a good time all year. It’s so special the girls won their first state title. We had a deep team and I was so happy they could fulfill their dream.”

Wood County Christian freshman Ellie Piatt became the first individual from the school to advance to the state tennis tournament and joined Williamstown freshman Addison Woodburn on the All-State tournament team in girls singles.

In boys singles, Brady Woodard and Gavin Hill both received All-State honors.

Williamstown’s Gavin Hill, right, goes to pick up a ball off the court during a Class AA/A state semifinal doubles match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Woodard and doubles partner Issac Harris joined their No. 2 doubles team of Brady Anderson and Gavin Hill as semifinalists before both pairs lost to representatives from Charleston Catholic on neighboring courts Saturday.

Harris played baseball a year ago but decided to play competitive tennis this year for the first time.

As irony would have it, Harris was a member of last season’s baseball team which lost to Charleston Catholic in the Class A state championship game. The Irish did it to him again – this time on the tennis court in an 8-2 loss.

The match next door with Anderson and Hill had already wrapped up with Charleston Catholic winning 8-1.

“So I can’t really get past the Irish,” Harris laughed. “In the past, I just played tennis for fun. I played in the finals in middle school , but no competitive tennis other than that. I was just hungry to join the tennis team. The coaches are good and the teams are good at winning.

Wood County Christian’s Ellie Piatt returns a forehand during her Class AA/A state semifinal singles match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“It was a great team this year, but as you can see the outcomes were not what we expected. It was still a good year.”

As part of Williamstown’s No. 1 doubles team all season, Harris and Woodard clicked from the start.

“Brady is awesome – he is always in good spirits and he is a very good player,” Harris said. “We did a tournament before the season started and were winning matches like 8-2.”

On the same location as all the doubles were playing out their semifinal matches, the Woodburn twins, Addison and Peyton, were concluding their freshman season with Williamstown falling 8-2 to yet another Charleston Catholic entry.

“Addison and Peyton are really down – they didn’t play their best today,” coach Leo said. “They won a tiebreaker with those girls before so this was a disappointment for them.”

Williamstown’s Peyton Woodburn returns a backhand at the net during a Class AA/A state semifinal doubles match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The semifinal round of singles opened action Saturday morning. The boys singles bracket was all chalk with Woodard as the No. 2 seed facing Charleston Catholic freshman Winston Hunter, who was seeded No. 3. Woodard trailed 3-2 when Hunter won two straight games and maintained the edge in an 8-5 win.

For girls singles, Piatt as the tournament’s fourth seed gave the good fight to top-seeded Martina Taborda Urbaneja from Shady Spring before dropping an 8-6 decision.

“I thought I played really well – stayed in the match most of the time and just fought,” said Piatt, who fell behind 2-0 in her match but didn’t waver from the gameplan. “I thought, just get some more points, get some more games. Even though I fell behind there at the start, I didn’t feel like it was a blowout. It was close. Had games go to deuce.

“Her pace on the ball was definitely harder than what I’m used to. But I had some good deep returns.”

Piatt looked back on her first high school season, which included a 13-0 singles record before experiencing her first loss in the regional finals.

Williamstown’s Issac Harris reaches for an overhead shot during Saturday’s Class AA/A state semifinal doubles match, Saturday in Charleston. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“This experience definitely makes me want to work a lot harder and get better for next year.”

Friday at State Tennis

Every fall. Every notch. Williamstown sophomore Brady Anderson keeps a running total for both categories which in turn creates levity among the Yellowjacket tennis program.

During the afternoon and evening sessions at Friday’s Class AA/A state tournament, spectators watched Anderson and doubles partner Gavin Hill play the final match on the indoor courts at Charleston YMCA and survive an 8-8 (7-4) tiebreaker to advance to Saturday’s semifinal round.

During the race to seven points in their semifinal match, Anderson took a tumble to increase his season total to 25 – a stat Anderson and the entire team embraces.

On the flip side, earlier in the match he also hit a return winner at the feet of one of his East Fairmont opponents – a feat he began keeping tabs back during his days of middle school tennis.

“In eighth grade, I just started hitting a lot of people – not intentionally, so I just kind of kept track,” Anderson said. “I’m not trying to hit them, but it kind of just started happening. (Assistant coach Jeremy Woodard) calls me the assassin.”

Hill fought through tennis elbow throughout last week’s regional tournament by altering his game. In addition to doubles, he managed to reach Friday’s quarterfinal round before getting eliminated in the semifinals. He learned a thing or two from the injury.

“It made me play smarter,” Hill said. “Last week was definitely a different style of playing, but I fought through it and made it here.”

As the five seed in doubles, Hill and Anderson now have a task ahead of them with top-seeded Nick Giatris and Ethan Bastin from Charleston Catholic.

“They are tough – they just hit really hard,” Hill said. “Nick hits every ball in.”

Championship Saturday at the state tournament will feature two Williamstown entrees in the doubles bracket on opposite sides of the bracket. Brady Woodard, who bowed out of last year’s state tournament with a knee injury, paired up with Gavin Hill as the No,. 2 seed for a quarterfinal win against Chapmanville.

In the singles bracket, Woodard pitched a pair of 8-0 shutouts against representatives from East Fairmont and moved into Saturday’s semifinal round. The scores were not indicative of the challenge facing the Yellowjacket junior.

“We had a lot of deuce games in that second match – in one game there were like seven deuces,” Woodard said. “I like seeing all these good players at the state tournament. It’s more energized here and that gets me ready to play.

“I really enjoy tennis – no matter if I win or lose, it just feels good to play.”

Another area representative who earned another day of state tennis was Wood County Christian freshman Ellie Piatt, who allowed a total of five games while winning two matches and advanced into the girls semifinal round in singles as the No. 4 seed.

“The state tournament had a fast pace (with the eight-game pro set) – things went quicker,” Piatt said.

Piatt’s very first point at the high school state championships was a cross-court, forehand winner. Impressive composure for someone representing Wood County Christian for the first time at the state level. Piatt won the first six games of her first round match and defeated Oak Glen’s Ruby Chaney 8-1.

In the quarterfinals, Lincoln’s McKenzie White tested the patience of Piatt’s game with continual slices and the ability to keep shots in play. At one point, Piatt trailed 3-2 then won four straight games and put the finishing touches on an 8-4 victory.

“I don’t like it when it’s close,” Piatt admitted. “I just had to stay low and try to lift the ball (against White), and stay consistent – hit smarter shots.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com