Girls tennis sectionals began on Wednesday with semi-final action at Carmel’s Todd Witsken Tennis Center and the Noblesville East Middle School courts.
Over at Carmel, the No. 1-ranked Greyhounds advanced to today’s championship with a 4-1 victory over No. 13 Westfield. Carmel won both doubles matches, and also took the Nos. 2 and 3 singles matches, including a 6-0, 6-0 win from senior Leila Antony. Another pair of seniors, the No. 2 doubles team of Anjali Natarajan and Katelyn Conley, won 6-0, 6-1.
“We played pretty well,” said Greyhounds coach Bryan Hanan. “This is about as good a Westfield team as we played.”
Hanan was especially happy with the senior leadership from his No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles players.
“That’s sort of the theme every year,” said Hanan. “You expect them to step up and obviously they did tonight.”
The Shamrocks won the No. 1 singles match with freshman Isabella Norris getting a 6-0, 6-0 victory. That qualifies Norris for the individual singles tournament which begins next week.
“I’m really excited,” said Norris. “I’m a freshman, so this is definitely a really cool experience and I’m really excited.”
On the other side of the draw, No. 18-ranked Guerin Catholic advanced to the championship by beating University 5-0. The Golden Eagles only dropped six games in the five matches, including a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles by freshman Kathryn Tiplick.
Guerin Catholic’s doubles teams played well, with the No. 1 squad of senior Natalie Mowid and junior Kelly Igo holding off a second set challenge from Trailblazers freshmen Lindsey Blocksom and Claire Kilgore. The Golden Eagles team won 6-1, 6-2.
Guerin doubles coach Lynn Trott said “our doubles players remain strong and steady and played with a lot more consistency and power these last few weeks, so it’s nice to see their game finally come together right here at the state tournament.”
Carmel and Guerin Catholic will play for the championship starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Todd Witsken Tennis Center.
CARMEL 4, WESTFIELD 1
No. 1 singles: Isabella Norris (W) def. Thea Bertolini (C) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Leila Antony (C) def. Julia Gabennesch (W) 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Nora Perkins (C) def. Alana Raymond (W) 6-1, 6-3
No. 1 doubles: Alexa Lewis and Hallie Reeves (C) def. Maya Raymond and Olivia Krauss (W) 5-2 ret.
No. 2 doubles: Anjali Natarajan and Katelyn Conley (C) def. Emma Schwind and Chloe Carlson (W) 6-0, 6-1
GUERIN CATHOLIC 5, UNIVERSITY 0
No. 1 singles: Ellen Gardner def. Phoebe Zimpfer 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 singles: Brittany Witsken def. Kara Wang 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Kathryn Tiplick def. Bayan Abdullah 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Natalie Mowid and Kelly Igo def. Lindsey Blocksom and Claire Kilgore 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 doubles: Josie Turner and Emma Oakley def. Paige Banta and Aisha Kokan 6-0, 6-1
Over at Noblesville, the No. 21-ranked Millers and No. 9 Fishers reached today’s championship match after semi-final wins.
Noblesville beat Hamilton Heights 5-0, dropping only three games in the meet. That included 6-0, 6-0 wins for No. 1 singles Alli Maskew, No. 3 singles Josie Flinchum and the No. 1 doubles team of Kaylee David and Katelyn Decker.
The Tigers beat their district rival, No. 7 Hamilton Southeastern, 3-2. Fishers swept all three singles matches, including a 6-0, 6-0 victory for Lucy Loy at No. 1 singles.
The Royals won both doubles matches. The No. 1 team of Emily Orme and Misha Bukkasagaram got a 6-2, 6-1 victory and will advance to the individual tournament.
The Millers and the Tigers will play for the championship at 4:30 p.m. today.
NOBLESVILLE 5, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 0
No. 1 singles: Alli Maskew def. Rebekah Steffen 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Allie Stamm def. Ella Maiden 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Josie Flinchum def. Olivia Mansfield 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Kaylee David and Katelyn Decker def. Maddie Martin and Jenna Kelley 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 doubles: Sierra Leach and Lina Hamashuk def. Meredith Dodson and Katie Smith 6-1, 6-1
FISHERS 3, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 2
No. 1 singles: Lucy Loy (F) def. Tea Vrkic (HSE) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Isabelle Mokra (F) def. Taylor Wolf (HSE) 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 singles: Caroline Ober (F) def. Emma Bieberich (HSE) 6-2, 6-1
No. 1 doubles: Emily Orme and Misha Bukkasagaram (HSE) def. Kirah Fuller and Addy Kolb (F) 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Kaylee Etheredge and Meghan Slaninka (HSE) def. Madelyn Barron and Meredith Ober (F) 6-3, 6-2