The Lakeland tennis team competed at the 2024 Tennis State Championships. The Lakeland Hawks had two teams competing, hoping to bring home some gold.
Unfortunately, both teams lost their first match, won their second match and lost their third match.
Toby Tebbe and Shelby Wear started their day playing Rayce Clement and Avrie Johnson of the Hillcrest Knights. They lost the first set 6-0, then won the second set 7-6. However, they were then lost heartbreakingly by losing in the tiebreaker matchup by a score of 10-8.
This loss set up Wear and Tebbe to be put into the consolation bracket. They matched up against Kylee Gibbons and Cooper Edwards from Minico. They won the first set by a score of 6-3, then lost 7-5. They completed the win in the tiebreaker set and won 10-6.
That win set them up against Brendan Boyd and Paige Carr from the powerhouse, the Bishop Kelly Knights.
Tebbe and Wear could not capitalize and lost by scores of 6-0, 6-0. This ended their season.
The other team that competed at the state tournament was the boy’s double team of Brock Raebel and Jayden Ruelle. Ruelle had been sick leading up to the tournament but was able to recover just in time for the bus ride.
Raebel and Ruelle faced off against Indy Groberg and Ozzy Groberg of Idaho Falls. They could not make it past the second set as they lost 6-3,6-2.
This would put them into the consolation bracket, where they would match up against Blake Tingey and Davis Higley of Twin Falls. Raebel and Ruelle won the first set 6-4, then lost 4-6, and then won in the tiebreaker set 10-6.
In round two of the consolation bracket, Ruelle and Raebel’s season would come to an end as they lost 6-4, 6-3 to Ryan Lewis and Brenner Warren of Emmet.
Even though this ended the season for the Hawks, it was a great season, and they are ready for what next season has to come.