BE tennis and volleyball teams close out successful seasons

Sure, Bishop England, like many other schools with elite athletic programs, wins its share of state championships.
Year after year, the Bishops are honored for their athletic achievements by earning the Carlisle Cup, which is given to the state’s most successful athletic programs.
Saturday, two of Bishop England’s teams, which have earned a reputation nationally as being among the elite of the elite, took to the court seeking to expand their glory and their state championship hardware.
The girls’ tennis team, coached by Kristin Fleming Arnold, was seeking its eighth straight state title and accomplished its mission with a victory over Chapman at the Lexington County Tennis Center. It was the Bishops’ 23rd state title in girls’ tennis
The volleyball team, which is coached by Cindy Baggott, was seeking a national record 19th straight state title against Powdersville at White Knoll High School in Lexington. However, shockwaves were felt nationwide as Powdersville ended the Bishops’ remarkable run as the state champion, which began at the Class AA level and included a few years at the Class AAA level.
There were the Boston Celtics in the NBA, the UCLA Bruins in NCAA basketball, the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball and perhaps the current Alabama Crimson Tide in college football, but none of those teams had a dynastic run like the Bishops. From 2000 to 2017, there was Bishop England, and only Bishop England.
If the Bishops were to begin another 18-year run as state champs next fall, it would last until 2037. Let that sink in for a while.
TENNIS
If there was a more dominant tennis team in Bishop England’s history than the 2018 team, speak now or forever hold your peace.
Chapman entered Saturday’s state match with a perfect record, but was no match for the Bishops, who posted a 7-0 victory to conclude the season with a 23-0 record. The Bishops lost only 11 games in the five singles and two doubles matches against Chapman.

In singles, No. 1 Eleanor Campbell defeated Elizabeth Williams, 6-1, 6-2, while No. 2 Lily Woods topped Alex Kinlaw, 6-0, 6-0. In No. 3 play, Jenna Santa Lucia blanked Molly Foxworth, 6-2, 6-0, while MacKenzie Penton won over Juliana Coates by an identical score. Finally, in No. 5 singles Izzy Woods routed Madeline Williams, 6-0, 6-1.

In doubles, Campbell and Lily Woods won as did Crista Vroman and Lauren Ferrara.

It was the Bishops’ 145th state championship in the school’s 103-year history.

VOLLEYBALL

Powdersville won a revenge match and the state title with an impressive victory over the Bishops.

Last year, the Patriots jumped to a 2-0 lead against the Bishops in the Class AAA state championship, but the Bishops used a mighty rally to win.

However, history did not repeat itself and the Bishops failed to repeat as state champs for the first time since 2000.

Powdersville defeated the Bishops, 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15.

The Patriots, who were a senior-laden team, finished the season with a 26-4 record and claimed its first state title in the school’s history.

The Bishops, by comparison, have won 28 state titles, which also is a national record.