From left to right, Williamstown's qualifiers for the state tennis singles tournament were Peyton Woodburn, Xavier Graeber, Isaac Harris, Brady Woodard, Brady Anderson and Addison Woodburn. (Photo Provided)

WILLIAMSTOWN — The tennis courts, spectators and just the environment in general will be decked out in maroon and gold when the West Virginia High School State Tennis Tournament begins next Thursday in Charleston.

A perfect storm fell upon this week’s Class AA/A, Region I tournament at City Park in Parkersburg as Williamstown High School accounted for every qualifying spot available minus two slots in the girls singles bracket.

The Yellowjackets will be represented in both the boys and girls team competition on Thursday, followed by both doubles entries — again in the boys and girls division. Twin sisters Addison and Peyton Woodburn wrapped up the top two positions in girls singles, while it was a clean sweep on the boys side with Brady Woodard, Isaac Harris, Brady Anderson and Xavier Graeber occupying the four available qualifying slots.

“Getting all four of our singles to state was the biggest highlight of the week,” said Woodard, who dropped just two games over the course of five matches. The senior defeated Harris, his doubles partner, 8-1 in the finals. “It’s been a while since we have taken all four here at Williamstown — even last year when we only sent two of us. To get everybody through my senior year feels really sweet.

“At state, I’m going to try and stay calm, but I am going for the win and give it my all.”

Several matches defined Williamstown’s run in both divisions of singles on Wednesday. Seeded third in the girls field, Peyton Woodburn trailed top-seeded Ellie Piatt from Wood County Christian before rallying for a 9-8 victory in the semifinal round.

“That match was crazy,” Woodburn said. “We both had good points and hit really long rallies. It was a really tough match.

“Ellie is a great competitor and it was just really fun to play that match and come back like that.”

Piatt, who advanced to the state semifinals last year as a freshman, lost only one match during the regular season. Her opponent that afternoon was Oak Glen’s Ruby Chaney, who lost to Addison Woodburn 8-1 in the other regional semifinal.

“My first three matches at regionals, everything was running smoothly — I was playing very aggressive and had a good mindset,” said Piatt, who did not drop a game leading into her match with Peyton Woodburn. “Against Peyton, I was serving well and hitting shots. Toward the middle and end of the match, I let loose and started to play her game and slowly lost my focus.

“Against (Chaney) during the regular season, I had a huge mental funk. Nothing was going right. Before our third-place match I practiced hitting the ball hard and worked on my approach shots.”

Piatt turned the tables in the rematch against Chaney and won 8-1. In the championship match, Addison maintained her stranglehold over her sister, winning 8-1.

“I was like 100 percent worn out, definitely,” Peyton said. “But you just want to play. It never stops.”

As the No. 2 seed, Addison dropped a total of three games while winning five matches en route to her singles title. The previous day, the Woodburn sisters defeated teammates Lauren Deem and Emmalee Pritchett for the doubles title. Both entries also advanced to state.

“I was prepared to play either Ellie or Peyton in the singles finals,” said Addison, who lost to Piatt in the one meeting between the two schools during the regular season. “Peyton and I have our differences on the court once in a great while. I know she can do better and she knows I can do better. We push each other to the limits because we know what we are capable of.”

Based on seeds, Williamstown was slated to qualify two individuals in the boys singles bracket as well. However, Graeber and Anderson wiped chalk from the bracket — Graeber the No. 5 seed after earning fourth place following an 8-6 loss to Anderson, the No. 7 seed in the third-place match.

In a quarterfinal match involving the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds, Graeber defeated Wheeling Central’s Levi Anderson 8-5.

“That was a pretty big win,” said Graeber. “I was very happy because honestly I really didn’t think I would make it this far as a freshman. Playing at the high school is definitely more exciting. It’s crazy.”

Anderson, who lost to Graeber in two challenge matches during the regular season, threw a curve in one quadrant of the bracket when he defeated No. 2 seed Mason Smith of Wheeling Central, 8-6, in the quarterfinals.

“That win comes from a lot of effort,” Anderson said. “When the bracket came out, I just wanted to make sure that I got to state, so I just had to get to the semifinals. And I didn’t have to play Brady Woodard if I got to the finals.”

That particular win over Smith had all eyes from the Williamstown perspective keeping tabs on the outcome. Even from teammates in action on nearby courts.

“That quarterfinal match was crazy,” Anderson said. “I had such a difficult match. (Mason Smith) is a really good player. We were both really good. We were all leaving everything out on the court. Neither one of us were willing to give each other any points.

“I managed to get up 3-0, but he started coming back and it led to a really close match there at the end.”

As the No. 3 seed, Harris dropped just four games in four matches before advancing to the finals against Woodard. A former baseball player at Williamstown, Harris knew his finals partner particularly well since the duo competed as a doubles team last year at the state tournament.

“I was playing great in singles — I was putting the ball away,” Harris said. “I hit with the No. 1 in the tournament all the time, so I was working on a combination of shots and they just worked out in my favor. Then Brady whooped me in that last match.

“Brady is a dominant net player, so (in doubles) I try to set him up mostly.”

Those who made their high school debut at the state level a year ago, such as the Woodburn sisters competing as part of the Yellowjackets’ team championship and Piatt, are settled in their surroundings as next week approaches.

“I’m going to compete my hardest, but what I’m really looking forward to is spending time with the team,” Anderson said. “I truly want to win and all that, but it does mean something special that I can be a part of this group of people, this community. That it can make me feel like I belong.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com