Congratulations to Coach Nicki Shockley’s Bainbridge High School Lady Cats tennis team on a tremendous accomplishment over the weekend.

After winning the Region 1AAAA championship and advancing all the way to the Class AAAA Final 4, they finished second, coming within one match of winning it all Saturday during Final 4 competition in Jonesboro.

City of Bainbridge tennis professional Tim Thompson, who accompanied Coach Shockley and her Lady Cats to the Final 4, reported that a South Georgia tennis team had never before made it as far as the Lady Cats did this season.

No sports team accomplishes the great things the Lady Cats accomplished this season without outstanding senior leadership.

Providing that leadership were seniors Katie Monson, Kylie McGlincy, Anna Wells, Kelsey Lambert and Caroline Rollins.

This has truly been an outstanding school year for Bainbridge High School sports in general.

I’ve been covering Bainbridge High School sports for 40 years, and something happened this year that I can never remember happening before.

Two teams making the Final 4 in two different sports the same school year is indeed rare, but it happened this school year at Bainbridge High School.

Coach Rickey McCullough’s Bearcats basketball team joined Coach Shockley’s Lady Cats tennis team in making the State Class AAAA Final 4 in their respective sports the same school year.

It was through hard work and dedication that the Bearcats cagers and Lady Cats netters were able to achieve their great heights this school year.

I would also like to congratulate our Bearcats and Lady Cats track teams on their recent 1AAAA championships at the Hugh Mills Memorial Stadium Track in Albany.

Coach Larry Cosby’s Bearcats track team was led at the Region 1AAAA meet by strong individuals like Denzel Reynolds, who won the 100-meter dash in a time of 10.64 seconds and the 200-meter run in a time of 21.95, and Joseph Ausgood, who won the 800-meter run in a time of 1 minutes, 59.01 seconds.

Leading the way for Coach Tandria Phillips’ Lady Cats at the Region 1AAAA meet were senior Nancy Session, who was first in the 400-meter run in a time of 56.60 and first in the 200-meter run in a time of 24.93.

Session, as good an all-around girls track athlete as has ever competed at Bainbridge High School, was also on the Lady Cats first-place finishing 4-by-400-meter relay team with Khadeijah Cooper, Diamond Bouie and Jerisha Sutton. Their time was 4:07.96.

In conclusion, let me just thank all the Bainbridge High School coaches and athletes who made the 2009-2010 sports year such an exciting one to cover. I wish the seniors nothing but the best for their future.