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By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer

Grace Community tennis head coach Ken Hodge was confident of winning a doubles state trophy last month in the TAPPS 5A tennis championships in Waco.

His No. 1 girls team of Haleigh Hickerson and Jane Pinkston accomplished this, but shortly thereafter, Hodge received word of another trophy Grace had won.

This one was completely unexpected.

“The husband of last year’s coach, Lynn Whatley, came to me during the final of our girls doubles match and said, ‘Hey, I think we are going to win the team title,’” Hodge said. “I was really, completely surprised because I hadn’t even been looking at that.”

Thanks to Hickerson and Pinkston’s success, coupled with Kaylee Rogers and Sydney McFerron reaching the quarterfinals, Grace totaled 13.5 points.

Not exactly a windfall, but it was better than everyone else. Grace’s 13.5 edged second-place Dallas Parish Episcopal (10.5) by three points.

“We had no earthly clue at all,” said Hickerson, a senior who said she was still celebrating her first state medal when she found out. “It was quite a shock.”

That Hickerson and Pinkston won the TAPPS 5A girls doubles crown was anything but. The duo captured the Hope Open title and was seeded No. 1 entering the TAPPS state tournament.

It had been a two-year wait for Hickerson after reaching the semifinals sophomore. Her partner graduated and the new team failed to make it to state last season.

She watched as teammates Andrew Langford and Sam Pinkston, Jane’s older brother, won the boys doubles title in 2007.

“After my junior year kind of fell through I just knew that senior year was going to be mine,” Hickerson said.

The senior had the desire, but she didn’t have the right partner — yet.

Fortunately for her and Grace, Jane had ascended from eighth grade to high school. As a singles player, Pinkston finished the previous year ranked No. 3 in the state for the 14-year old division.

“I had played with both of her brothers, so knowing Jane was coming up, I was hoping she’d put up with me (and be my partner),” Hickerson said.

Pinkston said she made her mind up on day 1 to play doubles with Hickerson.

“She’s a senior and I have three more years,” Pinkston said. “Doubles was my first choice to help her out.”

On the big stage at state, the duo went to work, winning a rain-shortened quarterfinal, 6-3, 6-0 over Dakotah Lindsay and Stephani Starrett of Argyle Liberty Christian.

The Grace team then won 6-0, 6-1 over Corpus Christi Incarnate Word’s Mackenzie Allison and Jordan Allison in the semifinals. This pitted them against Dallas Parish Episcopal’s Margaret Edwards and Kelly Rathbun in the championship match.

Hickerson/Pinkston dropped their first set in the tournament 6-7 (10-8), but stormed back to claim the next two, 6-3, 6-1.

“I had very high expectations and high hopes and it just turned out to be what I wanted,” said Hickerson who will attend Texas Tech in the fall.

The Grace boys won the team title in 2007 and Langford had his own desire in ’08 add another doubles state medal to his collection, albeit with a new Pinkston as his partner.

Andrew and Ben Pinkston reached the semifinals against Buehler/Kittrell of Dallas Christian, a team Langford/Pinkston had already beaten twice before.

But the third time went to Buehler and Kittrell.

“Last year was probably my best year of tennis,” said Langford, who is one of two seniors on Grace along with Hickerson. “This year my shoulder was hurt and we just haven’t been playing as much and couldn’t get a whole lot going.”

The complete Grace girls state championship team is Kaylee Rogers, Megan Hodge, Kristina Norton, Haleigh Hickerson, Sydney McFerron, Stephanie McAndrew and Jane Pinkston.