Three area tennis teams had a chance to come away with region titles Thursday.
The Gainesville boys in Region 8-6A and the North Hall boys and girls in Region 7-3A each went into Thursday's finals as either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds but none could pull off a victory
The Gainesville boys dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Lanier in the finals at Longwood Park. The Red Elephants will take the No. 2 seed into next week's opening round of the Class 6A state playoffs. The Habersham Central boys took third after beating Apalachee in the consolation round
In the 8-6A girls tournament, Lanier also took home the top seed beating Winder-Barrow in the finals. The Gainesville girls finished third after knocking off Dacula 3-1 in the consolation round.
In Region 7-3A, the top-seeded North Hall girls could not hold off Greater Atlanta Christian in the finals. The Lady Trojans dropped a 3-1 decision and will take the No. 2 seed into the state tournament. In the boys final, North Hall also fell to GAC, 3-0, and also will take the No. 2 seed into the state tournament.
In Region 7-4A, the Fowery Branch girls finished third after sweeping the singles and losing just one game combined in a 3-0 win over Denmark in the consolation round. They will travel to Gilmer next week in the first round of the Class 4A tournament.
The Flowery Branch boys, however, dropped a tight 3-2 decision to Marist in the consolation round. The Falcons got wins at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles but the match turned at No. 2 singles when Marist rallied from a set down to take the match. The Falcon also will take on Gilmer next week in the first round of the playoffs.
In Region 8-5A, the Johnson boys and girls teams advanced to the state playoffs after securing the No. 4 seeds at the region tournament in Buford. Both teams will face Chamblee in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs next week.
