By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Fishers girls tennis team is hosting a team regional for the first time.
Play began Tuesday at the No. 4-ranked Tigers’ tennis courts, and the home team had reason to celebrate after beating No. 30 Mount Vernon 5-0 in the semifinals, earning a spot in today’s championship match.
Fishers, last year’s state runner-up, only dropped five games among its five matches, including two 6-0, 6-0 shutouts. Those came from No. 1 singles Mischa Briggs and the No. 1 doubles team of Emma Beehler and Cassie Maurer. No. 2 singles Izzy Mokra won 6-0, 6-1, while No. 3 singles Caroline Ober and the No. 2 doubles team of Maddie Barron and Meredith Ober both took their matches 6-2, 6-0.
“We’ve played a lot of tough competition this year, so we know where we stand,” said Tigers coach Dave Heffern. “My whole thing is, come out and play the same way all the time, no matter who you’re playing, and then your skill level will take care of itself. Don’t expect to win. When you start expecting to win, bad things can happen.”
Fishers will try to defend its regional championship today by taking on No. 13-ranked North Central. The Panthers won a tough 3-2 semifinal over No. 17 Lawrence North. The matches begin at 4:45 p.m. today.
Carmel advances
Defending state champion and No. 2-ranked Carmel won its semifinal at the Kokomo regional on Tuesday, beating Lewis Cass 5-0. The Greyhounds will play No. 18 Harrison this afternoon for the championship.