Fairfield’s Paton repeats as SEC singles champion

FORT MADISON — Fairfield’s Tess Paton defended her Southeast Conference singles title in style at the girls’ conference tennis tournament in Fort Madison on Monday. Paton lost just two sets all day, sweeping her way to the top.

Paton, the top seed, started her day with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Fort Madison’s Brianna Wright. She followed with a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Macy McGinty of Burlington and finished off her perfect day by taking down Fort Madison’s Molly Knipe 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match.

Paton was the Union coverage area’s only Top-five singles finisher. Mt. Pleasant’s Eva Rounceville took eighth.

Savana Walls and Melanie Olivas represented Mt. Pleasant well in the doubles tournament. Walls and Olivas took second place overall to earn All-Conference honors.

The Panthers’ top-seeded duo swept Keokuk’s Brittney Kelly and Sophia Rule 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. They had to battle for a three-set win over Emma Coffin and Grace Hecox, taking it 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Mt. Pleasant’s run was ended in the finals, as Burlington’s Jacqui Workman and Emily Mosley pulled off a 6-1, 6-2 win.

Fairfield’s Sydney Wells and Maddy Greiner made the doubles semifinals after upending third-seeded Adi Robinson and Jaelyn Johnson of Keokuk 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 in the opening round.

Wells and Greiner dropped their semifinal game 6-0, 6-1 against Workman and Mosley but bounced back to defeat Coffin and Hecox 9-8 (7-5) in the one-set third-place match.

The SEC title in tennis is determined by the regular season, which was won by Burlington, so there were no team scores in the event.