For the first time in three years, the Carmel girls tennis team is a state champion.
The No. 1-ranked Greyhounds started out as a relatively young team, but they grew up throughout the season. That increasing maturity culminated in a 4-1 state championship victory over No. 2-ranked South Bend St. Joseph in the Saturday afternoon final at North Central’s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center.
Carmel has now won 11 state championships in program history and finds itself just one away from the Panthers’ long-standing record of 12 state titles. It was a happy occasion, as coach Bryan Hanan said he thought his team had a good chance last year, but never got that opportunity because the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We worked really hard for this,” said Hanan. “This was a goal from day one this year.”
The deciding point came from No. 1 doubles. The team of junior Hallie Reeves and sophomore Alexa Lewis won a tough first set by the score of 7-5, then took the second set 6-3. Reeves did the honors, smacking a passing shot on match point.
“I was like, ‘I hope this goes over,”’ said Reeves. “Right when it went over, it was just an awesome feeling and I can’t describe it. It was just awesome.”
Reeves and Lewis are now 26-1 for the season. Since they went through the post-season undefeated, the duo now advances to the individual tournament, where they will be the top seed. The state level of the individual tournament begins on Friday.
“It was definitely a fight the whole season,” said Lewis. “We had some really tough matches. “But I’m really glad we pulled through. I knew we could the whole time.”
“They play relaxed,” said Hanan. “They don’t get too tense. They’re two happy girls. They’re happy to be out here. Sometimes when things get tense, they just look at each other and smile, and I think that relaxes them. It’s nice for them to have some of that type of attitude, enable to overcome some negative things that happen during a match and they can just smile at each other and move on to the next point. “
Another young player that showed toughness was No. 3 singles Nora Perkins. The freshman came from way back to win her match; after dropping the first set 6-1, Perkins took the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, with the tiebreak going to 8-6.
Since the other matches had already finished and the team championship had been decided, the match finished with a 10-point super tiebreak. Perkins won that 10-8.
Carmel’s other wins came from its seniors. No. 2 Leila Antony picked up a 6-3, 6-1 victory, while the No. 2 doubles team of Katelyn Conley and Anjali Natarajan won 6-4, 6-0.
The Greyhounds were making their 18th appearance at the state meet, closing in on North Central’s record of 21. It also marked the first girls tennis coaching state title for Hanan; he has won three state titles with Carmel’s boys team.
In the morning semi-final, Carmel swept past No. 6-ranked Homestead 5-0, winning all five matches in straight sets. No. 1 singles Emma Brune won her match 6-2, 6-2, while No. 2 singles Leila Antony and No. 3 singles Nora Perkins were both victorious 6-0, 6-0.
HSE DOUBLES WINS REGIONAL
The Hamilton Southeastern No. 1 doubles team of juniors Emily Orme and Misha Bukkasagaram won the Fishers regional on Saturday.
The Royals received a bye into the championship match, then came from behind to beat the Franklin Central team of seniors Carly Sobieralski and Devin Cooney 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Orme and Bukkasagaram improved to 25-2 for the season and will advance to the individual state tournament, which begins on Friday.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
CARMEL 4, SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH 1
No. 1 singles: Molly Bellia (SBSJ) def. Emma Brune (C) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 singles: Leila Antony (C) def. Kate Bellia (SBSJ) 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 singles: Nora Perkins (C) def. Ashi Amalnathan (SBSJ) 1-6, 7-6 (6), 10-8
No. 1 doubles: Alexa Lewis and Hallie Reeves (C) def. Dani Graham and Gracie Velasco (SBSJ) 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 doubles: Katelyn Conley and Anjali Natarajan (C) def. Alayna Campbell and Tea Lazareto (SBSJ) 6-4, 6-0
SEMI-FINAL MATCH
CARMEL 5, HOMESTEAD 0
No. 1 singles: Emma Brune def. Olivia Creech 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 singles: Leila Antony def. Jenna Lewis 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Nora Perkins def. Ellie Cook 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Alexa Lewis and Hallie Reeves def. Morgan Render and Madison Zitlaw 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 doubles: Katelyn Conley and Anjali Natarajan def. Anna Topmiller and Rhegan Zitlaw 6-1, 6-0