CAYCE — He didn't mean to brag, but South Aiken senior Alex Sklizovic said he was more than confident that he and his brother Aaron would win in No. 1 doubles should Wednesday's Class AAAA state championship tennis match reach that stage.
It did – and they did.
The Sklizovic brothers rallied in the second set for a straight-set victory that clinched the state championship against A.C. Flora at the Cayce Tennis & Fitness Center, giving the T-Breds a long awaited return to the top after three consecutive state title defeats.
"As cocky as it sounds, we knew we were going to win," said Alex Sklizovic. "I have complete trust in my brother. We've played lots of doubles recently. We're undefeated, stayed undefeated, and I just had absolute trust in him. I knew that we were going to take that win."
Alex Sklizovic showed no ill-effects from winning the state singles title earlier in the week, breezing to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Lukas McClamrock to give the T-Breds a point. And then he waited.
Waiting, of course, had been a bit of a theme for the T-Breds. After all, South Aiken had been waiting four long years since its 2013 state title, and both teams had to wait after the match was postponed from Saturday to Wednesday because of inclement weather.
Neither team showed much rust.
Freshman Thane Tiffany's 6-0, 6-3 win gave the T-Breds and early advantage, and they led 2-1 with No. 2 and No. 4 singles remaining.
Aaron Sklizovic was locked in a battle with Zack Kirkland, who rebounded from a first-set loss to take a late lead in the second. But the T-Breds' junior hung tough, gutting out a 6-3, 7-5 win that meant that South Aiken would only need to win one of a possible three remaining matches.
Photo by Kyle Dawson/The Aiken Standard
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