The Carmel girls tennis team scored a dominating win at the Metropolitan Conference tournament on Saturday.
The MIC tournament was moved from Ben Davis to the Indianapolis Racquet Club after a rainy morning. But the change didn’t stop the Greyhounds, who won all five flights to finish with a perfect score of 60 points.
It was a satisfying win for Carmel, who had suffered dual meet losses to Cathedral and Park Tudor in recent days.
“Our confidence was a little shaken,” said Greyhounds coach Bryan Hanan. “Obviously our goal is in two weeks when the state tournament starts. We’re just trying to build some confidence back up and get ready for the state run.”
Carmel won all but one of its matches in straight sets. The only three-set win was, appropriately, the final at No. 1 singles between the Greyhounds’ Sydney Morris and North Central’s Emily Desai. Morris won the first set 6-3, then Desai took the second set 6-2.
The two then played a 10-point super tiebreak to decide the third set and the match. The score was tied at 7-7 before Morris won the last three points, finishing it up with an emphatic swinging volley to take match point.
“I think with me just having confidence in myself and just staying aggressive,” said Morris. “Despite the fact I missed those two swinging volleys and I missed some critical points, I was still believing in myself, and I told myself, ‘Hey, next one. Shake it off. You got the next one.’ And I’m so glad I had faith and I believed in myself that I was able to make that last swinging volley and just be aggressive and win on my racquet. Play to win, not to lose.”
“She’s been so close to getting a big win, and this was obviously a big win for her, and it was long overdue,” said Hanan.
In the other flights, No. 3 singles Emma Brune and the No. 1 doubles team of Lauren Little and Leila Antony sailed through their three matches with the loss of only three games. At No. 2 singles, Apruva Manas won the first two rounds on Thursday, then Hallie Reeves won the final round on Saturday. Katelyn Conley teamed with Franny Werner at No. 2 doubles to take the first two rounds, then Lara Staton came in on Saturday, teaming with Conley for a 6-1, 6-0 win.
“We came out ready to play today,” said Hanan. “We talked to them about focusing, just being all mentally tougher and that’s what we did today.”
Carmel will host Columbus North on Tuesday for its Senior Night meet.
No. 1 singles Sydney Morris: def. Murff (Ben Davis) 6-0, 6-0; def. Strube (Lawrence Central) 6-0, 6-4; def. Desai (North Central) 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.
No. 2 singles: Apurva Manas def. Fisk (Center Grove) 6-2, 6-3; Apurva Manas def. Weeder (Warren Central) 6-0, 6-0; Hallie Reeves def. Christner (BD) 6-2, 6-2.
No. 3 singles Emma Brune: def. Messer (Pike) 6-0, 6-0; def. Freije (Lawrence North) 6-0, 6-1; def. Garrett (CG) 6-0, 6-2.
No. 1 doubles Lauren Little and Leila Antony: def. Grissom and Robin (NC) 6-1, 6-1; def. Griffin and Manner (LN) 6-0, 6-1; def. Aukerman and Plowman (CG) 6-0, 6-0.
No. 2 doubles: Franny Werner and Katelyn Conley def. Senninger and Priest (LC) 6-0, 6-0; Franny Werner and Katelyn Conley def. Johnson and Brame-Smith (NC) 6-4, 6-3; Lara Staton and Katelyn Conley def. Hoard and Boha (CG) 6-1, 6-0.
The Carmel girls tennis team won the Metropolitan Conference meet, which finished up Saturday at the Indianapolis Racquet Club. The Greyhounds won all five flights to score a perfect 60 points. (Richie Hall)