Jay earns first win

The beginning of the season was tough on the Patriots as they endured three straight losses.
A strong day of doubles play helped them break through.
Jay County took both doubles matches and picked up a third win by injury default Monday as it edged the visiting Winchester Golden Falcons 3-2 for its first victory of the year.
“That had to happen. … They were  getting a little down I think,” said JCHS coach Susan Garringer, whose team had opened with losses of 4-1 to Blackford and 5-0 to both Bellmont and Richmond. “This was a big win for the girls because now they  know they’ve got the capability to pull this off.
“I knew that the key to my girls winning their matches would be gaining confidence on the court … We’ve had a lot of double faulting because they don’t have the confidence that they can do what they need to do.
“But tonight what I saw was far different than that. They all played with confidence and hit the ball with a little more authority.”
That was especially true at No. 1 doubles, where Shawna Miller and Sydney Bost were in control throughout.
Bost and Miller won four of their first five games against Carlee LeVasseur and Makenzie Winger of the Golden Falcons. They pushed ahead to 5-2, giving them a chance to close out the opening set on Bost’s serve.
They took a 40-15 lead in the eighth game, and then closed out the set on a volley winner by Miller.
LeVasseur and Winger were never able to break through in the second set against the Patriots, who went up 5-0 on another Miller volley.
Miller than served for the victory, and after a pair of stops at deuce the JCHS pair won the match when a Winchester shot sailed long.
“They were serving and volleying well,” said Garringer. “The server was setting up her (teammate) at the net. They played good doubles strategy.
“They’re very comfortable at the net. And the back court player was getting the ball cross court. They didn’t hit as many to the other team at the net.”
Faith Parr and Emily Westgerdes had a slower start than their teammates, but ended up with a similar flourish.
After dropping the opening 6-4 and trailing 3-0 in the second, they all of a sudden found their groove. They won six of the next nine games to pull even, and shut out Winchester in the tiebreaker to force a third set.
That shutout streak continued as a strong service game propelled Westgerdes and Parr to a 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-0 win.
“It looked like a completely different team,” said Garringer of the third set. “(Westgerdes) is a strong server. When the first serve goes in, she sets Faith up at the net really well. As soon as she started getting her serves in, that gave them what they needed.
“I’m really happy with the way both doubles teams are playing. They’ve learned a lot. They’re playing more doubles strategy.”
Miranda Reinhart picked up the third point for the Patriots when Justice Peed retired during their first set at No. 1 singles. Peed suffered a knee injury when she was tracking down a loose ball between points.
Reinhart was in control at the point of the injury default, leading Peed 3-0.
“Her serves were going in,” said Garringer. “She was hitting the ball really well, with authority. …
“She was playing well.”
Avery Loyd had a strong start at No. 2 singles against Karen Huang, winning the opening set 6-0. But she couldn’t keep up that pace as Huang rallied back for an 0-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Brooke Fraley of Jay County played a marathon against the Golden Falcons’ Christina Casperson at No. 3 singles, with the match lasting nearly three-and-a-half hours with the help of a brief rain delay. Like Loyd, Fraley won her opening set only to fall in three sets by a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 score.

Junior varsity
Jay County dominated the Golden Falcons, turning in a pair of shutout wins in a 3-0 victory.
Morgan Kaufman and Jessica Kerrigan were in control in their singles matches. Kaufman defeated Megan Daly of Winchester 8-0 at No. 1 singles, and Kerrigan also turned in a shutout win against Miranda Winningham at No. 2 singles.
Kyra Braun and Michelle Wellman topped Sierra Winkle and Sarah Retter 8-3 at No. 1 doubles.[[In-content Ad]]