Weddington Captures 3A Boys Tennis Championship


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Twins Henry and William Hatt celebrated their 18th birthday on May 20 in grand style.

With singles play complete and two of three doubles matches all but decided at the Class 3A Boys Dual Tennis Championships, the Hatt brothers helped give Weddington High School a state tennis championship when they defeated the duo of Alex Kasari and Andrew Zahran of Fayetteville Terry Sanford High 10-4.



The two school were tied 3-3 after singles play and the match quickly became tied at 4-4 as Weddington and Sanford each picked up 10-1 victories in doubles play.

Hatt/Hatt fell behind Kasari/Zahran 4-2 but the Weddington seniors rallied to win the next eight games for a deciding 10-4 doubles victory in a 5-4 team victory. The state championship capped off a season that saw Weddington win the Southern Carolina Conference championship and a regional championship.

The loss for Sanford was the first of the season as they finish with a 13-1 record. Weddington finishes the season with a 14-3-1 record.

Henry Hatt also won his singles match when he defeated Dev Sashidhar 7-5, 6-0. Henry Hatt won the final 12 games after falling behind 5-1 in the first set. Grant Kimner and Nicholas Spera also picked up singles victories for Weddington.

Spera/Kimner then teamed up to give Weddington a 10-1 victory at No. 3 doubles.

“It’s been a season of superlatives in so many ways,” Coach Hatt said. “Those three guys in singles won their singles and doubles.”

William Hatt teamed with teammate Logan Trimp to defeat Henry Hatt and Grant Kimner for the Class 3A Individual Doubles Championship earlier this month. But Weddington coach Kathy Hatt decided to mix up the doubles combinations to give the Warriors a better chance at a team state title.

It worked to perfection as the Warriors won two of the three doubles matches to win the championship.

“Line one (doubles) and line three (doubles) were cancelling each other out,” Coach Hatt said. “It was so exciting. It was awesome. Henry and William don’t often play together in doubles and it was their birthday. I broke up the state championship team and the runner-ups to give ourselves a better chance.”

Singles

No. 1 Henry Lieberman (TS) def. No. 1 Logan Trimp (WED) 6-4, 6-1

No. 2 Nathan Lieberman (TS) def. No. 2 William Hatt (WED) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

No. 3 Nicholas Spera (WED) def. No. 3 Alex Kasari (TS) 6-1, 6-4

No. 4 Grant Kimner (WED) def. No. 4 Andrew Zahran (TS) 6-3, 6-3

No. 5 Henry Hatt (WED) def. No. 5 Dev Sashidhar (TS) 7-5, 6-0

No. 6 Richie King (TS) def. No. 6 Ben Juhl (WED) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1 Henry Lieberman & Nathan Lieberman (TS) def. No. 1 Logan Trimp and Ben Juhl (WED) 10-1

No. 2 William Hatt & Henry Hatt & (WED) def. No. 2 Alex Kasari and Andrew Zahran (TS) 10-4

No. 3 Nicholas Spera & Grant Kimner (WED) def. No. 3 Dev Sashidhar and Richie King (TS) 10-1

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Paul Nielsen
Nielsen was a sports writer for what is now the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for nearly 32 years before moving to North Carolina in February 2016. At the Democrat-Gazette, Nielsen's primary responsibility was beat coverage for Rogers High School. Rogers is a Class 7A school located in Northwest Arkansas.
Nielsen, a University of Arkansas graduate, covered the Northwest Arkansas Naturals Minor League Baseball team from 2008-2015. The Naturals are the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Nielsen has experience covering University of Arkansas athletics, including NCAA Tournament basketball games and several football bowl games. He also covered amateur and professional golf tournaments in Northwest Arkansas.
Nielsen lives in Matthews with his wife, Susan. He can be reached at ripig1979@yahoo.com.