By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Carmel girls tennis team kept its sectional championship streak rolling on Thursday.
The No. 2-ranked and defending state champion Greyhounds beat No. 9 Westfield 4-1 at the Todd Witsken Tennis Center to win the sectional title. Carmel has now won 30 consecutive sectional titles, and 39 overall.
All five matches were decided in straight sets. The ‘Hounds swept both doubles, with Ali Griffin and Alexa Lewis taking the No. 1 match and Marina Duncan and Alex Widjaja winning the No. 2 flight. Meanwhile, No. 1 singles Nora Perkins and No. 2 singles Elyse Nelson both got victories.
“We came out with authority, started off pretty good,” said Carmel coach Dan Brunette. “I knew that 2 doubles and 3 singles was a strong point for Westfield and they played pretty well in those spots today.”
Brunette was complimentary of the Shamrocks, calling them a good team and noting their No. 9 ranking.
“And I think we needed some test early on here,” said Brunette. “It’s good for us, and it’s good for us to face a little bit of adversity and deal with it.”
The Shamrocks’ lone win came at No. 3 singles, where Addi Kooi held off Grace Kim 6-3, 7-6 (2). Kim came back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a tiebreak.
Westfield’s Addi Kooi won the No. 3 singles match for the Shamrocks. (Richie Hall)
Carmel will play the winner of the Kokomo sectional Tuesday in the semifinals of the Kokomo regional. The Kokomo sectional championship is set for this afternoon between Northwestern and the host Wildkats.
Fishers wins again
Fishers, the No. 4-ranked team in the state, defeated district rival and No. 15-ranked Hamilton Southeastern 5-0 on Thursday to win its third consecutive sectional championship. The match was played at Noblesville.
No. 1 Mischa Briggs, No. 2 Izzy Mokra and No. 3 Caroline Ober all won singles matches for the Tigers, while the doubles teams of No. 1 Emma Beehler and Cassie Maurer and No. 2 Madelyn Barron and Meredith Ober were both victorious.
Fishers will host the regional this year, and begin play on Tuesday by taking on No. 30-ranked Mount Vernon.
AT CARMEL
Carmel 4, Westfield 1
No. 1 singles: Nora Perkins (C) def. Juliette Grilliot (W) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Elyse Nelson (C) def. Alana Raymond (W) 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 singles: Addi Kooi (W) def. Grace Kim (C) 6-3, 7-6 (2).
No. 1 doubles: Ali Griffin and Alexa Lewis (C) def. Olivia Krauss and Jenna Berry (W) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Marina Duncan and Alex Widjaja (C) def. Brianna Saylor and Chloe Carlson (W) 6-4, 6-2
AT NOBLESVILLE
Fishers 5, Hamilton Southeastern 0
No. 1 singles: Mischa Briggs def. Taylor Wolf 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Izzy Mokra def. Emma Bieberich, n/a
No. 3 singles: Caroline Ober def. Summer Wolf 6-2, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Emma Beehler and Cassie Maurer def. Maya Wetzel and Novelle Lee 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 doubles: Madelyn Barron and Meredith Ober def. Naina Patwardhad and Peighton Baugh 6-3, 6-2