Serving success: FHS boys claim 2026 district title
Friday, April 24, Kori Faulkner made sure history did not repeat itself for a third time.
The Farragut senior outlasted Maryville’s Will Huddleston 10-8 in a match breaker, snapping a 3-3 tie to give the Admirals a 4-3 win for the 2026 District 2-AA title.
Faulkner won his first set 6-4, lost the second set 6-3 and claimed the match breaker to vault FHS to program history.
He wound up in a similarly lofty perch moments later, as teammates paraded Faulkner on their shoulders after the victory.
“When they were lifting Kori, we reminded them that it’s each and every one of you that got us to this point,” FHS assistant tennis coach Jim Swanson said. “They all took part in the win, so that was the message we gave them.”
“It took not just our one and two players,” added head coach Joan Swanson, “but all 13 have been actively involved all season long.”
The Lady Admirals lost 5-3 to West earlier last week in their district championship matchup. In postseason singles, Skylar Meade claimed second place in the boys’ individual singles district finals, while Anika Patel and Isha Patel took second in the girls individual doubles district finals.
Individual region matches are slated for Monday and Tuesday, May 4-5, while the boys’ region matches will take place Thursday or Friday, April 30 or May 1, depending on results this week.
The Patels will take on a duo from Halls, and Meade will face Oak Ridge’s Billy Bennett.
For Hardin Valley, Madison and Jaymeson Huffman are the respective top seeds for their brackets, as they will face Karns’ Myra Mulholland and Halls’ Chris Rodriguez, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Farragut boys will take on the winner of Halls-Campbell County this week.
And whichever team FHS faces, both Farragut coaches want to see the same effort
and enthusiasm they witnessed last week.
“It was a true team effort,” Joan Swanson said. “They all played hard, played to win
and at the end, Kori was on their shoulders. From the freshmen to the seniors,
they are a group. They celebrate together.”
