Brian Lim is humbly reluctant to call his girls’ tennis team the “gold standard” at River Bluff High School.

Others may say otherwise after the Lady Gators claimed their 2nd Class 5A title in 3 years Saturday at the Cayce Fitness and Tennis Center.

In becoming the school’s 1st 2-time state champion, River Bluff stormed back to win 4 singles matches in defeating J.L. Mann 4-2.

“Honestly, it’s the best feeling ever,” said senior Claire Floyd, a member of the 2017 state championship team. “We worked really hard. Last season served as a motivation for us, but it feels good to be back.”

“I’m really proud of them,” Lim said.

The comeback was spearheaded by Floyd, senior Jessie Hollins, who transferred this year from Buffalo, New York, junior Kiana Thatcher and freshman Liyin Zhu. Both Thatcher and Zhu rallied from 1st set losses to win their matches as Floyd and Seymour were completing their victories.

While Lim said it was ‘nerve-wrecking’, Zhu was inspired by the large turnout of River Bluff fans who lined up outside the court fences to provide support.

“I think that having Gator Nation here, I’m definitely a pressure player that likes a lot of support,” she said. “So, everyone that was cheering, I was like ‘I got this’!”

Thatcher had a different form of motivation.

“It was my last game ever, so I was like ‘Maybe I should win?’,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hollins advanced to the Class 5A singles semifinals and will play Thursday in Cayce at 9:30 a.m.

While River Bluff claimed the top prize in girls’ tennis, both Gilbert and Lexington looked to upend the defending state champions in their respective classifications at River Bluff High School.

Both teams were defeated in 3 sets. Gilbert fell to Powdersville in the Class 3A final, while Lexington lost to Nation Ford in the Class 5A final.