Five Hamilton County tennis players will begin their quest for a state championship Friday at the IHSAA individual state tournament, which will take place at North Central.
Fishers senior Lucy Loy is competing in the singles tournament. The undefeated (27-0) Loy plays Valparaiso’s Rose Pastoret in a first-round match, which begins at 3:30 p.m. The other quarter-final matches feature Harrison freshman Emma Gu taking on Providence senior Emma Kaelin, and Park Tudor junior Lauren Long playing Heritage Christian freshman Noelle Compton.
South Bend St. Joseph freshman Molly Bellia received a bye and plays the winner of the Gu-Kaelin match in the semi-finals, which start at 10 a.m. Saturday. The other two quarter-final winners play each other at that time in the semis, with the championship match at 2 p.m. Saturday.
In the doubles tournament, Carmel’s team of sophomore Alex Lewis and junior Hallie Reeves play the Goshen senior squad of Kathryn Detweiler and Joya Drenth in Friday’s quarter-final Match 1. The winner will take on the winner of Match 2, between Delta seniors Tynan Dishman and Maggie Manor and Covington juniors Karsyn Engle and Emma Taylor.
On the other side of the draw, Hamilton Southeastern juniors Misha Bukkasagaram and Emily Orme play the Jasper team of sophomore Brailyn Whaley and junior Delaney Wigand in Match 4. The winner will play the Match 3 winner, either Evansville Memorial seniors Abigail Myers and Margo Thorp or the New Albany team of senior Layne Burke and sophomore Lily Meyer.
The doubles semi-finals are also set for 10 a.m. Saturday, with the championship at 2 p.m.
