DAILY JOURNAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Center Grove’s Peter Golder and Franklin’s Noah Roberts both won first-round sectional singles matches Wednesday at Center Grove.
With the wins, both advance today’s 4:30 p.m. sectional championship match at Center Grove, where the juniors will face each other for the title.
Roberts (24-2) defeated Shelbyville senior Scott Radford 6-2, 6-2, while Golder pulled off an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory against Roncalli senior Blake Amonett (18-6) on Wednesday.
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In their first go-round this season, Roberts slipped by Golder in the No. 1 singles match of the Johnson County Tournament in mid-September.
Golder (16-8), a three-year starter, is accustomed to going up against the very best with the kind of schedule Center Grove plays each year.
After coming off the courts Wednesday, Golder expressed confidence, saying he would have a different strategy for Roberts.
“I feel really good about (today),” Golder said. “This was a good start for me. I got some solid hitting in out there, and I was doing well with my attacking shots at the net.
“You could say that’s become one of the fortés of my game.”
Meanwhile, the left-handed Roberts had everything working for him Wednesday.
“It’s all about one match at a time. I’m not going to look too far ahead and hope I find my best tomorrow against Peter,” he said. “I’m hitting the corners really well with the top-spin.
“It’s always nice to hit those corners. It takes a lot footwork to get underneath those returns.”
Also at Center Grove on Wednesday, Perry Meridian defeated Franklin Central 5-0 to win the team regional championship.
