MYRTLE BEACH — Carolina Forest’s Katie Godfree made another contribution to the Panthers’ medal haul.

Just days after the Panthers claimed their second 5A state title in three years, Godfree won the 5A/4A individual state championship on Nov. 7 at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center. On top of that, her teammate Olivia Bull finished third in the 5A/4A individual competition.

“I’m really proud of everyone as a whole,” Godfree said. “Everyone’s work ethic was really good this season and [we were] just staying really focused and determined and really just having that goal of winning state. I wouldn’t have been able to win state without my coaches and teammates pushing me every day at practice and just all of the extra hours that everyone put in to help me. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”

Godfree is the 15th girls tennis player from either Horry or Georgetown counties to win an individual state title since 1984. The most recent Grand Strand champion before Godfree was Socastee’s Brooke Rogers in 2021.

The Braves have also been a powerhouse recently, winning the 5A team state title in both 2020 and 2022. Last year, Socastee defeated Carolina Forest in the lower state championship to reach the finals.

“Coming out of last year, kind of having to come back from that loss at lower state, that was just even more so a motivator and kind of created this drive in the girls this season to really come through and win state,” Carolina Forest head coach Alexis McNabb said. “They just put a lot of time and effort in at practice [and] outside of practice. I mean, the mentality was totally different this year.

“… The thing with Katie, she’s just a determined, driven young lady and she strived to be the best at this sport and that’s exactly where she ended up this season because she deserves to be there.”

Socastee still had a solid team this year, making the second round of the team playoffs before falling to Lexington, and Conway has also emerged as a power in the area, making it all the way to lower state before falling to the Panthers, 4-2.

Having that level of competition right in their backyard did wonders to help Carolina Forest reach the top of the mountain this season.

“Our area being so competitive makes it to where we have to stay focused all season and just really always be ready for matches because the teams in our area are so good,” Godfree said. “I feel it just doesn’t give us a chance to slack off or let up, and I feel like that’s just part of us being able to stay mentally in it and just always having that goal because we know that if we do slack off, we could end up losing any of our matches because our area is so tough.”

McNabb added that winning against area rivals of this caliber makes beating them that much sweeter.

Carolina Forest isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, with all of the players on its ladder coming back next season, including Bull and Godfree, who are No. 1 and No. 2 in singles, respectively. Bull will be a senior next year and Godfree will be just a junior.

Godfree attends Atlantic Collegiate Academy, but she was able to play for Carolina Forest this season because ACA does not yet have a team. The only thing that would prevent Godfree from playing for the Panthers again in 2024 would be if ACA forms a girls tennis team of its own.

“Coming back next year, I would hope more than anything that we get the same team, and if the universe has it, it’ll place us there again like it did this year,” McNabb said. “I know the girls are really looking forward and hungry for that extra win … It would be awesome to create a dynasty. It would be really neat to have a three-time state championship team where our lineup hasn’t really changed … If the universe has it for us, we’re going to claim it. That’s for sure.”

Grand Strand Girls Tennis Individual State Champions (Since 1984)

Open Singles

1992 – Cena Hackler, Myrtle Beach

1993 – Devrin Car, Myrtle Beach

4A/3A Singles

1997 – Elizabeth Proctor, Myrtle Beach

1998 – Elizabeth Proctor, Myrtle Beach

2004 – Abby Diminch, Myrtle Beach

2A/1A Singles

2000 – Nicole Luetolf, Green Sea Floyds

2005 – Allison Stanford, Waccamaw

2006 – Allison Stanford, Waccamaw

2009 – Tolley Rice, Waccamaw

2010 – Tolley Rice, Waccamaw

2011 – Tolley Rice, Waccamaw

2012 – Tolley Rice, Waccamaw

2014 – Ali DeSpain, Waccamaw

5A/4A Singles

2021 – Brooke Rogers, Socastee

2023 – Katie Godfree, Carolina Forest