FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Flowery Branch and Gainesville tennis teams are on course for another big showdown.
The Red Elephants' and Falcons' boys and girls tennis teams dominated the opening day of the Region 8-AAAAA tournament Wednesday at Davis Middle School in Flowery Branch.
On Thursday, the four teams will battle it out for region titles. The two rivals have duked it out for region supremacy a number of times and have also produced plenty of regular season slugfests.
Both teams cruised toward the repeat showdowns on Wednesday.
In the girls tournament, Gainesville beat Loganville and Lanier in quick 3-0 matches to advance to the finals. Flowery Branch made quick work of Apalachee and Clarke Central to advance to the finals.
For the Lady Red Elephants, against Loganville, Katherine Wright won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, Haley Frankum won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, and Madi kiser and Georgia Summer won 6-0, 6-1 to clinch the match. Against Lanier, Frankum got the first win at No. 2 singles 6-1, 6-1; the No. 2 doubles of Ali Waggoner and Paige Ackerman won 6-3, 6-3 and Wright clinched the match with a 7-6, 7-6 at No. 1 singles.
The finals will be at 9:30 a.m. at at the Flowery Branch High courts. Lanier and Clarke Central will play at 1 p.m. for the No. 3 seed.
In the boys tournament, Flowery Branch whipped Heritage, Conyers and then Apalachee by 3-0 scores to advance to the finals. Gainesville slammed Cedar Shoals and then Clarke Central by 3-0 scores to advance.
For the Gainesville boys, against Cedar Shoals, Jeffery Kiser won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles, Graham McKinnon won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles,, and the No. 2 doubles of Reagan Williams and Edward Belch won 6-0, 6-0 to clinch it. In the semifinals against Clarke Central, Kiser won 6-3, 6-0, Mckinnon won 6-0, 6-1 and Williams and Belch clinched it with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
The boys final will follow the girls finals. Cedar Shoals and Clarke Central will play for the third seed at 11 a.m.
