LITTLE ROCK — Kaitlin Ray did not win every set of the 2007 high school girls overall tennis tournament by the score of 6-0, but the 14-year-old freshman from Pulaski Academy clearly dominated the event.
Ray cruised through the tournament, dispatching Abbey Sharpe of Bentonville 6-2, 6-1 in Thursday's final at the Burns Park Tennis Center in North Little Rock.
Tournament officials originally posted the championship score as 6-0, 6-0, which could be excused considering Ray's quarterfinal and semifinal matches had ended without Ray losing a game.
Sharpe, a senior who won the Class 7A singles title, was able to put up more of fight than Ray's previous opponents, but Ray was plainly the best player Thursday.
"Abbey is an excellent player and I was happy with my performance today," Ray said. "There's always things you want to improve on and I would like to be a little more aggressive when I play matches. But Abbey's definitely a very good player."
Sharpe defeated defending overall singles champion Ellen Yeatman in Thursday's semifinals, but she admitted Ray was too tough to overcome in the final.
"I'm not even close to [Ray]," Sharpe said. "I beat Ellen twice in the last week and I had been able to beat her only once before. I've improved and I'm proud of that. I played good against Kaitlin, but I wish I could have played better and won a few more games."
Even though Sharpe lost in the final, it was still a good week for Bentonville. The Lady Tigers advanced both of their doubles teams to the final, with AliceHavner and Amy Anderson defeating Arden Brazzeal and Anna Bever 6-2, 6-1 for the title.
For Ray, Thursday's victory could be the first step in a possible four-year sweep of the overall. That goal, however, could be only the first of many awards on the freshman's horizon.
"I believe if I continue to work hard every day, I can reach any goal I want," Ray said. "I want to set my goals high. I would love to play professional tennis, but it's a long process and I have to go through that process to get there. I got to put the work in to get there.
"Whatever happens, happens, but I definitely enjoyed playing high school tennis here. I like high school tennis because you're not only representing yourself, but you're representing your school."
Sports, Pages 34 on 10/26/2007