Westfield blanks Bishop Chatard, advances to Final 4

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

INDIANAPOLIS – The Westfield girls tennis team kept its postseason undefeated streak going right on into the state finals on Friday. The one-loss ‘Rocks have not only won 21 straight matches as a team, but they’ve kept unblemished throughout the state tournament,

Westfield and Bishop Chatard met up as one of four matchups with the Shamrocks knocking out the Trojans 5-0 in a quarterfinal match at the Barbara Wynne Tennis Center at North Central High School.

Shutouts against Hamilton Heights and Noblesville in the sectional, Alexandria and Delta in regional play and Homestead at semi-state have the Shamrocks riding high heading into the State Finals.

The ‘Rocks are making their second consecutive appearance and they played with purpose to advance to today’s semifinals.

“It was a tough match, definitely on all three singles courts,” said Westfield head coach Trudy Coler. “Long points and long games. A good tiebreaker at three singles for that first set. So, it was close and they had great points. It took a little while for us to figure some things out, which is always good, especially since it’s a team we didn’t play this season.”

It took a few games for all three singles matches to get on track. The two doubles team didn’t run into any troubles at all on the way to straight-set wins, as did one and two singles.

“You’re always trying to assess your opponent the first few games. My girls did a good job doing that. It just took a little bit of the first set to do that. Doubles, I thought, came out really well, handles their first sets super well,” Coler continued. “They kind of had to hang in there to figure out some things in the second sets and came out with some really good matches in dubs as well.”

No. 1 singles player, freshman Alexandria Grilliot improved her undefeated record to 26-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Cathy Beckmann. Grilliot plays Jasper’s undefeated senior Harper Wigand (28-0) today.

At No. 2 singles, sophomore Isla Harvey (15-1) got the win against Chatard’s Maggie Bertram, 6-4, 6-2. Harvey plays another one-loss opponent today in Marian Hayes (25-1).

The no. 3 singles matchup was Westfield’s toughest. Junior Juliette Grilliot moved to 14-1 with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 battle. Juliette takes on the Wildcats’ Lila Hawkes (20-2) this morning.

The no. 1 doubles team of junior Jenna Berry and sophomore Bella Rivera (22-3) were 6-2, 6-2 winners. They take on Jasper’s Reese Mundy and Adaysha Smiley (26-2) today.

No. 2 doubles faced a little adversity, but were able to keep their undefeated mark going. Senior Addi Kooi was not able to play and was replaced by sophomore alternate Maddie Iovino. Junior Ellen Volz and Iovino came away with a 6-2, 6-4 win to help the ‘Rocks advance to the Final 4 today.

Early on, the weather played a little bit of a role, but all eight teams made adjustments accordingly.

“I think everybody felt the heat at some point today, maybe not as much in dubs, but the humidity really picked up in singles on both sides of the court,” said Coler. “We haven’t played in it (humidity), we haven’t had it this season.”

Westfield (22-1) faces a tough challenge today against Jasper (21-1), but the Shamrocks seem prepared.

“We’re really excited to make it to the Final 4,” said Coler. “My girls have worked really hard this season. It’s been a goal of ours to get to state again this year. So, we are just enjoying every single match we get to play. Against Jasper, we haven’t played them or seen them, so it’ll be a lot of fun. It’s going to be a really tough match. We’re going to come out and try to play as aggressively as we can.”

Westfield and Jasper play in one semifinal, while the Brebeuf Jesuit Braves (23-0) and Munster Mustangs (26-2) will play simultaneously in the other semifinal.

Brebeuf defeated the Providence Pioneers 4-1 and Munster outlasted the Penn Kingsmen, 3-2 in their quarterfinal matches. Both semifinals start at 10 a.m. and the state championship will take place at 2 p.m.