The courts were different, but the result the same as the Franklin and Indian Creek girls tennis teams met for the second time in nine days.
Wednesday’s first-round match of the Johnson County tournament ended with the host Grizzly Cubs scoring a 5-0 victory. It qualifies them for Saturday’s 9 a.m. semifinal at Whiteland, where they face the host Warriors.
The other semifinal features Center Grove against Greenwood, which swept Edinburgh in Wednesday’s other first-round match.
Franklin’s shutout of the Braves mirrored the score of the match played between the teams in the April 9 season opener at Indian Creek. The closest matches this time were 6-1, 6-2 decisions in both No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles.
“I thought all across the board we played better tonight,” said Franklin coach Rusty Hughes, whose squad improved its record to 6-0. “Our kids worked hard in the offseason. Our strength is our depth. We have nine kids and we rotate them on the varsity.
“We might depend a little bit more on our top two or three girls, but for the most part our depth is what we run with.”
In the top singles match, Cubs junior Kate Heuchan downed Indian Creek junior Katie Burkman in straight sets. Franklin sophomores Alexa Wilkison and Emma Genter won the No. 2 and 3 singles matches, respectively.
In No. 1 doubles, senior Abi Smith teamed with Daryn Hyneman for a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Braves seniors Mya Piccone and Mekenzie Hunter. Haylie Rayl and Rachael Pinnick completed the sweep for Franklin with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the second doubles match.
Franklin and Whiteland have a history of playing 3-2 matches, and Hughes won’t be surprised if the same thing happens Saturday.
“Whiteland is really good. They’re a well-coached team,” Hughes said. “Mike Gillespie is one of the best coaches, I think, in the state. He gets the most out of his players, so we’ll have our hands full. It will be a good match.”
Indian Creek (0-3) is at Southwestern today.
“The girls we have are very coachable,” Braves coach Ryan Posey said. “I really thought everyone out there was giving their all tonight, and that’s all I’m looking for.”
Greenwood coach Jeremy Runge also expects a tougher test Saturday than his team faced against the Lancers.
“We’re really young across the board. Center Grove is a very good team with a lot of depth,” Runge said. “That’s hard to compete with sometimes, especially for a smaller school.
“I’m hoping we go out and play good tennis. We’re more or less trying to build for conference at this time.”
Recording singles wins for the Woodmen were Maddie Bright, Emily Chatham and Megan Johns. Doubles victories for Greenwood were by Alyssa Roscoe and Maecee Terhune at No. 1 and Brittney Mandabach and Ally Hussung at No. 2.
