White County Tennis sweeps Upperman in dominant showing

The White County High School tennis teams delivered a dominant performance, with the Warriors defeating Upperman 9-0 and the Warriorettes claiming an 8-1 victory.

Across the board, White County athletes won 19 of the 22 total matches played, showcasing depth throughout the lineup as the teams continue to build momentum early in the season.

Warriors Dominate on Boys Side

The Warriors completed a clean sweep, beginning with strong play in doubles competition.

The pairing of Ben Brogden and Rhoane Whorton secured an 8-4 win, while Jagger Osborne and Jett Drouillard battled through a tight contest to claim a 9-7 victory. Seth Smith and Gabe Sweeney rounded out doubles play with an 8-4 win.

White County carried that momentum into singles competition, winning all six matches.

Brogden rallied from an early deficit, coming back from 0-3 down to secure an 8-6 victory in the top singles position. Whorton added another dramatic moment for the Warriors, winning the team’s only tiebreak of the evening 9-8 (5).

Osborne cruised to an 8-2 win, while Smith posted an 8-1 victory. Drouillard added an 8-4 win and Sweeney delivered the most decisive result of the night, serving up an 8-0 “bagel” victory.

Warriorettes Win 8-1

The Warriorettes also delivered a strong overall performance, beginning with a sweep in doubles play.

Tegan Rittenberry and Katelyn Howard won their match 8-6, while Sadie Benningfield and Ainslee Goff secured an 8-4 victory. Emmie Benningfield and Claire Hawkins added an 8-1 win to complete the doubles sweep.

In singles play, Rittenberry fell in the No. 1 position, but the Warriorettes quickly bounced back with wins in the remaining matches.

Sadie Benningfield and Howard both posted 8-3 victories, while Goff added an 8-2 win. Emmie Benningfield followed with an 8-5 victory and Hawkins closed out the lineup with an 8-1 win.

Additional exhibition matches also saw strong results from White County players, including a 9-7 win from Avi Rose and an 8-1 victory from Aleigha Weston.

Several freshmen made an immediate impact, with multiple players recording decisive “breadstick” scores of 8-1, including Smith, Emmie Benningfield, Hawkins, and Weston.

"Our athletes made us proud with their grit, determination, and positive encouragement. The Upperman program is continuing to grow and provide good competition in their 3rd season," White County coach Topher Wiles said. "The Warriors & Warriorettes show continued growth in our strategic flexibility and mental resilience as evidenced by our seniors, Ben Brogden and Jett Drouillard, putting a W in the win column even though battling through challenging moments against tough opponents. They made the changes needed for success. The future of White County tennis looks bright as every freshman posted a bagel (8-0) or a breadstick (8-1) score! While it is early in the season, we did win another match tiebreak through Rhoane Whorton bringing us to 2-0 so far in the season and showing that our players are making some smart decisions in the highest pressure situations."

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