Twin Springs' Bays tabbed Bill Lane Tri-Cities Female Athlete of the Year

Women's sports at Twin Springs have suddenly found themselves on people's radars in Southwest Virginia. Addy Bays has had a lot to do with it.Bays is no stranger to representing her school at the highest level, having reached the state tennis championship for a second straight season. For her contributions to the Lady Titans, Bays has been selected by the Johnson City Press and Kingsport Times News as the Bill Lane Tri-Cities Female Athlete of the Year for 2024-25.Bays is Southwest Virginia's fourth female winner of the annual Bill Lane Awards, named after sportswriter Bill Lane who highlighted the accomplishments of student athletes around the region for 50 years.No matter the season, Bays always found herself at the forefront of helping Twin Springs athletics succeed. It started in volleyball, where she played setter and assisted numerous kills for teammates like Makenzie Gillenwater.With Bays' help, the Lady Titans more than doubled their win total from 2023 — going 12-13 in Bays' senior year and reaching the Region 1D tournament after defeating rival Rye Cove in five sets. A four-set win at Twin Valley earned a region semifinal berth Twin Springs, where it came up short against Northwood.Bays then went right to work helping the Lady Titans basketball team contend for a Cumberland District championship. Her senior year, Bays averaged 12.4 points, three steals, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 3-pointers per game. She scored nine points with a team-high four assists to help Twin Springs top Eastside 44-43 in the district semifinals, before finishing runner-up to J.I. Burton.Twin Springs then breezed through the Region 1D quarterfinal round to secure its first region semifinal berth since 2004, taking down Hurley 78-21 on the road. The Lady Titans finished 16-11 after falling to once-beaten Honaker in the region semis.Then came tennis. But Twin Springs initially didn't field a team when Bays transferred from Gate City for her junior year. When her dad Matt Bays returned to the classroom and sidelines in Nickelsville, Addy made it clear she'd be playing tennis in the spring."I gave Dad an ultimatum that if I was going to come to school with him he was going to have to start a tennis team," Bays said. "I was nervous coming in just because it was such a close-knit community, but everybody was really welcoming and really nice."Her junior tennis season was equally nice. Bays went undefeated on the court until her final match, the VHSL Class 1 state championship against Rappahannock's Sadie Pickett.Bays retained her Cumberland District and Region 1D singles championships this spring and remains undefeated in singles competition entering Saturday's Class 1 state final. Bays and Ella Burke finished state runner-up in Class 1 state doubles on Friday."I am just really glad that tennis is a part of our community now. In small communities like Nickelsville, there are not always sports to play or things to do," Bays said. "I feel like tennis is just another thing that people in our community can go play now and stay active."While Bays has had athletic opportunities at the collegiate level, her 4.32 grade point average helped her get chosen for the Roan Scholars Leadership Program at ETSU. She is also the valedictorian for Twin Springs.