SUFFOLK-Mathews High School took a tough second doubles match to down Franklin High School 5-4 in the Group A Region A team girls tennis championship Thursday at the Howard Mast Tennis Center.

Later in the day, the Franklin girls doubles team of Jennifer Sing and Carrie Webber defeated the Mathews first doubles team of Jessica Walker and Emily May 6-0, 6-1 to claim the Group A Region A individual doubles title, and Sing defeated Walker 6-2, 6-0 to claim the Group A Region A singles championship.

Sing led 3-2 in the first set, then won the next nine straight games to defeat Walker for the second time that day.

Sing will compete in the individual singles Group A state championship beginning next Thursday at Radford University. Sing and Webber will compete in the individual doubles Group A state championship beginning next Friday at Radford. Sing, a senior, will be competing in the Group A individual state tournament for the third straight year.

Mathews will represent Region A in the Group A team state championships beginning on Friday. It is the sixth straight year Mathews has won Region A as a team.

In the Region A team championships, Franklin and Mathews were tied 4-4. The match came down to second doubles, where Mathews’ Lauren Hurst and Susanna Jones defeated Franklin’s Kylee Ponder and Katie Gray 6-4, 6-4 in a two-hour slugfest.

&uot;We won the first set and they were down 4-1 in the second set and came back to win 6-4,&uot; said LaDonna Collins, Mathews head coach.

Franklin head coach Calvin Sing was hoping for a win at fourth singles, which would have wrapped up the match. But May beat Franklin’s Gray in another tough one, 6-7 (4-6), 6-3, 6-2.

&uot;It came down to Kylee and Katie (second doubles), and it just wasn’t their day,&uot; he said. &uot;They played very, very well. It was an extremely competitive match.&uot;

Other winners for Franklin were Sing at first singles, Webber at second singles, Kellie Sweat at fifth singles, and Sing and Webber at first doubles.