Newton girls finish third at Knoxville tennis invite

KNOXVILLE — Maggie Garrett and Katie McConnell won the doubles championship at the Knoxville Invitational on Friday, leading Newton’s girls tennis team to a third-place finish.

The Cardinals scored 14 points and trailed Clarke by just one point for second. Creston was the top team with 19 points.

The rest of the six-team field included Knoxville (12), Ballard (11) and Chariton (5).

“Maggie and Katie had an amazing showing,” Newton girls tennis coach Erick Zehr said. “Lauryn battled all the way back to get sixth. The girls did amazing today.”

Garrett and McConnell were seeded second but went 3-0 on the day at doubles to win the tournament. Lauryn Garrett was seeded 13th in singles but finished sixth after going 3-2.

Maggie Garrett and McConnell had a first-round bye but then won 8-1 and 8-5 before knocking off the fourth-seeded team from Creston 9-7 in the championship match.

Lauryn Garrett won her first match 8-4 and also had wins of 8-0 and 8-5 on her way to sixth. She lost 8-5 and was defeated 8-6 in the fifth-place match.

Megan Lovan also competed in singles. She was seeded sixth but lost both of her matches 9-7 and 8-3.

Ella Swarts and Olivia Hotchkin were seeded eighth in doubles and lost both of their matches 8-1 and 8-3.