State champs! Socastee, Waccamaw girls win tennis titles

Two Grand Strand teams won girls tennis state championships on Saturday.

Socastee defeated JL Mann 6-0 to win the Class 5A championship, while Waccamaw topped Chapman 5-0 to win the Class 3A crown. The state finals were played at the Eddie Floyd Tennis Center in Florence.

It’s the second title for the Socastee girls program, the other coming in 2020.

The Lady Braves advanced to the championship with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Carolina Forest on Tuesday in the 5A Lower State championship. The two teams have combined to win the last three 5A championships.

Socastee, which finished second in Region 5-5A, defeated River Bluff, Wando and Conway in its first three playoff matchups.

In Saturday’s championship, singles match winners were Brooke Rogers, Wae Man Chan, Cassidy Cocca, Isabel Solazzo and Laurel Case. Ryleigh-Caroline Williams and Delanie Williams won in doubles.

Waccamaw’s championship was its sixth in school history and first since 2010. The other five championships were in the Class 2A level.

Waccamaw, which received a bye in the first round, defeated Brookland-Cayce, Camden and Philip Simmons on its way to the championship.

Singles match winners on Saturday were Emory Heineck, Kaiden Greer, AA Flowers, Gabriella Martin and the doubles team of Elise Dozier and Stephanie Davis.