CAN GIRLS TENNIS THREE-PEAT? WE’LL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT 2 WEEKS

[Photo caption: Ellie Frank, Wando’s #1 player, prepares to hit a forehand during a recent match.]

The red-hot Wando girls varsity tennis team hosts Blythewood on Tuesday to open the playoffs and begin a run for a third consecutive state championship.

The Warriors, 16-2 and winner of 16 in a row, received a first-round bye as the top seed in the Class 5A Lower State playoff bracket. Eighth-seeded Blythewood, 10-6, opened with a 6-0 victory over ninth-seeded Sumter on Thursday.

“We’re looking forward to it,” said Wando’s Bob Lang, in his fifth season as head coach. “The girls are eager to play a real match after a week of practices.”

The postseason for tennis ordinarily is two weeks, but it was expanded to three weeks this year. That has given the top four seeds -- Wando, Gray Collegiate, Summerville and Carolina Forest -- a full week to prepare for their opening opponents.

The delay came at a good time for Wando, which is dealing with some injuries and hopes to be at full strength at some point during its playoff run. The team’s full-strength lineup includes the following regular starters: junior Ellie Frank, eighth-grader Cyanna Enright, eighth grader Kinsley Matthews, sophomore Tucker Adams, freshman Caroline Greene, eighth-grader Mary Alice Collins and senior co-captain Mae Keegan. Spot starters are sophomore Lilly Biggs, senior co-captain Rose Allen and juniors Brigitta Ohannesian, Edon Gierhart and Leah Chadwick.

The Warriors would need to win four more matches to win their third championship in a row. They beat River Bluff 4-3 in the 2024 final and Spartanburg 4-3 in the 2025 final, both in 5A-Division I when 5A was split into two divisions. Class 5A is now all one division. This year’s 5A championship is Saturday, Nov. 7th, at the Cayce Tennis Center near Columbia.

A “three-peat” would be a first for a Wando tennis team since the girls won back-to-back-to-back championships from 2007-09 under Coach Becky Williamson as part of her string of six titles from 2004-2009.

Coach Lang said three-peating hasn’t been a big topic of conversation among the players although he acknowledged that everyone knows the stakes.

“They realize if we lose our season is over. Our focus is on Blythewood,” he said.

After losing two of the best players in school history last year to graduation, Mia El-Kheddiwi and Calli Casazza, the Warriors weren’t expected to be as strong this season. But improved play from returning lettermen and the addition of Matthews and Collins into the top five has Wando on top again with a target on its back.

Other contenders for this year’s title include Gray Collegiate, Chapin and Spartanburg. Gray Collegiate, an Oceanside-like magnet school located in the Columbia area, is the #2 Lower State seed. Chapin and 2025 finalist Spartanburg are the top seeds in the Upper State. All three teams have rosters with talent comparable to Wando.

“This state is loaded with quality players,” Lang said. “We need to show up focused and ready to play every time we step on the court.”

Tuesday’s Wando-Blythewood match starts at 4:30 p.m. and will be the first between the schools in at least five years. If the Warriors win they would host the Spring Valley-Carolina Forest winner next Thursday (10/29) in the Lower State semifinals.

Admission to all home playoff matches is free.