Saturday’s Johnson County girls tennis tournament matches didn’t offer much in the way of drama, but they did provide seventh-ranked Center Grove with an opportunity to fine-tune some things.
Trojan coach Debby Burton came away pleased with what she saw from her team.
“I thought we executed the things that we’ve been working on in the second match very well. I was very pleased with how we hit the ball and took care of business.”
Business was taken care of quickly. The Trojans (7-2) rolled to 5-0 victories over both Greenwood and previously unbeaten Franklin, dropping just two games in quickly defeating the latter in the final.
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Isabella Schoolcraft made quick work of Franklin’s Katie Heuchan at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0. Ellie Strube was a 6-1, 6-0 winner over Alexa Wilkison at No. 2, while Jillian Garrett defeated Emma Genter at No. 3 without dropping a game.
The doubles matches went just as smoothly for Center Grove. The No. 1 tandem of Emily Hoy and Ashlee Fisk won a 6-0, 6-0 match, while Holyn Aukerman and Abby Hoard rolled by a 6-1, 6-0 count at No. 2.
Burton had been looking for some specific improvements out of both doubles teams, and she was pleased with what she saw on Saturday. The players, likewise, came away happy.
“We’ve been working on different formations, and we were definitely able to practice those today,” Hoy said. “We were able to push what we already knew … (Fisk and I) play together all the time, so we were able to know how far we could push each other with these different types of strategies.Â
“I think we were definitely able to execute what we worked on the last couple of weeks.”
Franklin advanced into the title match with a hard-fought 3-2 semifinal win over host Whiteland, one that saw three of the five matches go to a third set.
Allison Bennett and Haylie Rayl went the distance at No. 2 doubles for the Grizzly Cubs, while Wilkison did the same at No. 2 singles. Genter won in straight sets at No. 3 singles.
Whiteland (7-2) bounced back to defeat Greenwood for third place, 4-1. Reese Johnson, Haley Darling and Sophie Venter swept the singles points, while Sarah Scott and Bri Harwell capped a perfect day with a win at No. 1 doubles.
The morning belonged to the Trojans, however, who had it rolling from the outset and never slowed down.
“We try to find ways to keep each other up during the match,” Hoy said, “and we definitely found it today.”
