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Rams tennis swept by rival
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Matt Smith
Updated: Mar 5, 2014, 8:41 PM
Published: Mar 5, 2014, 8:42 PM

The Newton boys and girls tennis teams dropped a pair of sweeps Tuesday night to region rival Rockdale County in Region 2-AAAAAA action.

The Rams fell 5-0 in boys action, while the Newton girls also failed to pick up an individual win against the Lady Bulldogs, falling 5-0.

Despite the sweep, Newton coach Michael Bryan said his teams can learn a lot from emulating the Bulldogs.

"I think Rockdale's teams are the strongest in the region once again,” Bryan said. “We knew this going into the match, and the Rockdale teams played true to their reputation. We are still a young team, and we must work hard to improve as we move deeper into the region schedule.”

In singles action, the Rams' Craig Thomas fell 8-0 to Rockdale’s Patrick Sanders in No. 1 singles, while the Bulldogs’ Logan Hull also won 8-0 in No. 3 singles over Newton’s Anthony Bradley.

Trey Hull wrapped up the Bulldogs’ sweep in singles play in Rockdale’s closest singles match of the day, defeating Newton’s Tufail Khan 8-1 in No. 2 singles.

Newton fared better in doubles action, taking the No. 1 doubles match to 12 games. Demetrius Calhoun and Tamar Thomas battled back and forth with the Bulldogs’ Abenet Addisu and Bruce Mitchell, but fell 8-4.

Rockdale wrapped up the win in No. 2 doubles, as the Bulldogs’ team of Tyyon Anthony and Aaron Barron downed Newton’s Chris Scott and Marcus Willis, 8-0.

Newton girls falter

The Lady Rams didn’t have much success against the Lady Bulldogs, either, totaling just seven individual game victories against Rockdale.

Bri Weaver fell 8-0 in No. 1 singles to the state’s 11th-ranked player, Summer Walker, while Rockdale’s Destiny Commodore defeated Irma Soriano 8-0 in No. 2 singles.

Rockdale’s Alliyah Byrd helped the Lady Bulldogs remain perfect in singles play, earning an 8-1 victory over Ashley Jean-Baptiste in No. 3 singles.

Newton forced double-digit games in both singles matches, but the Lady Rams’ team of Ify Egbulem and Hanah Scott fell 8-2 in No. 1 singles to Abby Bradford and Tiara Anthony before Rockdale’s McKenna Commiskey and GG Manuel wrapped up the win with an 8-4 victory over Ja’lynne Cole and Brooke Menchion.
Jakai Newton enters transfer portal after two years at Indiana
Newton was a standout player at Newton High School
Jakai Newton
Jakai Newton (0) during his time at Newton High School. - photo by Covington News/File Photo
Evan Newton
Updated: Apr 1, 2025, 9:32 PM
Published: Apr 1, 2025, 9:29 PM

Former Newton Ram standout Jakai Newton will officially be searching for a new home.

Newton formally declared his intent to transfer from Indiana University on March 24 after entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Newton has struggled with injuries throughout his basketball career, which has kept him off the floor. 

The 2023 Newton Ram graduate suffered a knee injury during his senior year of high school. The same injury cost him his first season at Indiana.

After receiving a medical redshirt from the NCAA, Newton would only play four games in the 2024-25 season due to numerous lower body injuries. In those four appearances, he averaged 1.5 PPG and 0.8 RPG at 4.5 MPG.

However, when on the court, Newton was efficient. In just his sophomore season at Newton High School, Newton shot 34 percent from three-point range and was an efficient contributor to several Newton teams alongside players like Stephon Castle, Jabez Jenkins and Marcus Whitlock, among others.