North Montgomery and Southmont girls tennis had a venue change for their Montgomery County and Sagamore Conference battle on Thursday as the two teams secured the Wabash Indoor Courts as mother nature made playing outside not an option. With the match hanging in the balance at 2-2, the match came down to a third set tie-break at two doubles between the Chargers Caelyn Carpenter and Avery Gayler and the Mounties Evelyn Jones and Courtland Carpenter. In the two doubles match it went back and forth all night, but when the last point was scored it was the Chargers who won 8-6 in the tie-break to secure the third set win and the county win over the Mounties 3-2.
“What a battle it was and I’m just so proud of this team for their determination to come out on top,” Charger coach Lori Guard said. “Both Sydney (Neideffer) and Abigail (Allen) are playing great tennis right now and they ran into some really good singles players in Hanna (Long) and Marley (Jones). Kate (Merica) was able to come through big for us at three singles with Shayna (Ratcliff) and Reagan (Little) winning at one doubles and of course the thriller of a match at two doubles with Caelyn and Avery.”
The Mounties wins came at both one and two singles as Hanna Long defeated Sydney Neideffer 6-0, 6-0 and Marley Jones was a 6-2, 6-1 winner over Abigail Allen at two singles.
The three Charger wins came first from Kate Merica at three singles as she defeated Kela Johnson 7-6, 6-3. Shayna Ratcliff and Reagan Little were 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 winners in three sets and the final match of the night was Caelyn and Avery defeating Courtlyn and Evelyn 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).
“I think Hanna and Marley played smart tennis and secured their wins quickly,” Mountie coach Rob Reimondo said. “Overall the team match was very competitive with three matches going the distance. It could’ve gone either way and I think we’ll learn from it.”
For the Chargers it marked their second straight win on back-to-back nights as the Chargers continue to build momentum for next week’s sectional at Crawfordsville.
“This team just continued to battle physically and mentally which is a big part of the game,” Guard noted. “The final point of the match was a volley on Caelyn’s racket which was probably the best volley she has hit all year. She loves playing up at the net and it showed in the most important point of the night. I love what I’m seeing from everyone right now. Kate has great composure as a freshman and paired with her athletic ability makes her a really tough opponent. I was happy to see Shayna get this county win as she’s rounding out her career here with us and of course our two doubles team is so coach-able and are willing to try different strategies.”
The Chargers improved to 6-8 with the win which is big step forward for the team from where they were a season ago. After a battle with WeBo on Friday the Chargers will get ready for next week’s sectional at Crawfordsville.
The Mounties take on Lebanon on Friday and conclude their season Saturday against Tri-West at home.
Both county schools will find out their sectional opponents on Monday when the
IHSAA reveals the pairings.
