Union Tennis Earns First State Championship

By Mike Moguin
GTR Sports Writer

Junior Ashley Barber and freshman Savanna Rogers accomplished a first in Union school history. The duo teamed up to win No. 2 doubles at the Class 6A girls state tennis tournament on May 7 in Oklahoma City.
Barber and Rogers defeated Bixby’s Savanna Lee and Becca Powers, last year’s state champion, 6-2, 6-2 in the division final. It marked the first state championship ever for Union in girls’ tennis.
“As a freshman and having a good partner, (winning state) is fun,” Rogers said.
“For either of us girls, it is awesome,” Barber added.
The team chemistry also backs it up.
“She is like one of my sisters, honestly,” Rogers said of Barber.
“Whenever we started playing together, we got closer,” Barber said.
“I’m also proud of the team because we wouldn’t be here without them. Same for the coaches, too,” Barber said. “It is just an amazing experience because I never thought it would happen for us to be the first girls to win (state).”
Rogers echoed that statement.
Each player has a background on what they like about the sport of tennis.
“Honestly, this is the only sport that I’ve ever been good at,” Rogers said.
Rogers said that she tried other sports in the past, but nothing that stoked her passion. One day, her father invited her to go play tennis.
“I said ‘yeah,’ and I loved it, and I still love it,” she said.
It has paid off.
Barber said she enjoys the physical conditioning aspect, as well as playing with different people.
When they beat the defending champs from Bixby in the first set, Barber and Rogers were astounded at their accomplishment.
“It was like, ‘Oh my goodness! We just did that,” Rogers said. “The second time we did it, it was like ‘Wow!’ We were so happy.”
The pair didn’t just win. They were dominant.
“Being consistent and going for everything and being aggressive were the keys,” Rogers said.
“We knew we could beat them,” Barber said. “We just had to keep it going.”
In hopes of a repeat, both girls plan to practice together over the summer.

Track & Field Champion
J.T. McCloud won two events for the Union boys track and field team at the Class 6A state meet on May 11 in Moore. He won the 100- and 200-meter runs with times of 10:59 and 21:36.