Ballard twins seal State Championship

Connor and Aidan Ballard, twin brothers and Elkin High School sophomores maintained a family and Elkin High School tradition of tennis excellence by capturing the 1A doubles state championship in Cary, NC on May 11.

In high school tennis there are state wide competitions in singles, doubles and teams.

The pair never lost a set in their quest for the crown, winning the Northwest 1A Conference title, then the Western Regional title before advancing to the state tournament where they were the number one seed. At the state after cruising through the first round match 6-0, 6-0, they met arch rivals, Mount Airy’s Sechrist and Strickland in the semifinal match, winning that match 6-2, 6-1. The Ballards had previously beaten the Mount Airy pair for the conference title. The Elkin duo then met the team from Triad Math and Science Academy of Greensboro for the final match and dominated that match also 6-3, 6-2.

State tennis championships are not new to the Ballards. Their father, Will Ballard was State 1A/2/A singles champion in 1995 and was part of the Elkin High School team 1A/2A state team champions of that year. Likewise Connor and Aidan, playing numbers two and three for the EHS team, were crucial in the EHS team championship clinched the week after the Ballards won the doubles competition.

The EHS team loses three of its top six players to graduation this year, but Coach Junior Luffman is already preparing prospects for a third championship run next year.