May 9, 2015 at 4:26 a.m.
Jay finishes winless in ACAC
All four Jay County victories against non-conference foes
Jay finishes winless in ACAC
The Patriots have posted more wins this year than in either of their back-to-back sectional title campaigns.
That success just hasn’t transferred to the Allen County Athletic Conference.
The Jay County High School girls tennis team finished the conference season winless Friday as it fell 3-2 to the visiting Leo Lions.
JCHS is 4-1 in non-conference play this year, but 0-4 in the ACAC. Leo improved to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, led be a doubles sweep.
“I thought especially our doubles played really well,” said Leo coach Josh Grubbs. “They’ve been playing a lot better. We’ve actually gotten to have a couple practices lately, which this late in the season doesn’t usually happen. So we’ve been able to work on some stuff, and finally at the end of the year, they’re just kind of meshing.”
After both Jay County doubles teams fell behind 2-1, they took divergent paths for the rest of the opening set.
Emily Westgerdes and Faith Parr rallied at the No. 1 spot, winning back-to-back games for a 3-2 lead. But they weren’t able to muster any more as Leo juniors Abbey Keele and Sophia Roselle won the next four games in a row, with a Westgerdes shot landing just wide to the right to end the set.
Roselle and Keele then controlled the second set for their 6-3, 6-1 win.
“Tonight, they just, I don’t know, they didn’t play as good as they think they could have played,” said JCHS coach Susan Garringer of her senior duo. “They know they could have won that match.”
At No. 2 doubles, Abby Reier and Abby Saxman were never quite able to find their groove in the first set, but took a 2-1 lead in the second.
However, Sarah Schlosser and Ashton Heidenreich responded by winning four games in a row to finish the match 6-2, 6-2.
While No. 1 singles player Jessica Kerrigan played a lot of long points and reached deuce often, she wasn’t able to get over the hump against Leo sophomore Haley Parker in a 6-0, 6-0 loss.
Jay County’s bright spots came at the other two singles positions, with Kyra Braun avenging an earlier defeat and Shelby McClain dominating her second set.
That success just hasn’t transferred to the Allen County Athletic Conference.
The Jay County High School girls tennis team finished the conference season winless Friday as it fell 3-2 to the visiting Leo Lions.
JCHS is 4-1 in non-conference play this year, but 0-4 in the ACAC. Leo improved to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference, led be a doubles sweep.
“I thought especially our doubles played really well,” said Leo coach Josh Grubbs. “They’ve been playing a lot better. We’ve actually gotten to have a couple practices lately, which this late in the season doesn’t usually happen. So we’ve been able to work on some stuff, and finally at the end of the year, they’re just kind of meshing.”
After both Jay County doubles teams fell behind 2-1, they took divergent paths for the rest of the opening set.
Emily Westgerdes and Faith Parr rallied at the No. 1 spot, winning back-to-back games for a 3-2 lead. But they weren’t able to muster any more as Leo juniors Abbey Keele and Sophia Roselle won the next four games in a row, with a Westgerdes shot landing just wide to the right to end the set.
Roselle and Keele then controlled the second set for their 6-3, 6-1 win.
“Tonight, they just, I don’t know, they didn’t play as good as they think they could have played,” said JCHS coach Susan Garringer of her senior duo. “They know they could have won that match.”
At No. 2 doubles, Abby Reier and Abby Saxman were never quite able to find their groove in the first set, but took a 2-1 lead in the second.
However, Sarah Schlosser and Ashton Heidenreich responded by winning four games in a row to finish the match 6-2, 6-2.
While No. 1 singles player Jessica Kerrigan played a lot of long points and reached deuce often, she wasn’t able to get over the hump against Leo sophomore Haley Parker in a 6-0, 6-0 loss.
Jay County’s bright spots came at the other two singles positions, with Kyra Braun avenging an earlier defeat and Shelby McClain dominating her second set.
Braun learned from her 6-1, 5-7 (16-14) loss to Emili Runestad at Saturday’s DeKalb Invitational.
“I knew that I was going to get to play her again, so I was making sure that I concentrated more on my shots,” said Braun. “And I knew how she played … so I made sure to use that to my advantage. …
“She’s a pretty smart player and she likes to hit a lot of lobs. So I had to make sure I didn’t go in too early …”
After falling behind 3-2 in the first set, Braun fought back to win four straight games. She built off that momentum, and her effort to avoid the lob showed up especially in the final point of the match.
Braun calmly stayed at the baseline, keeping her position even when Runestad tried to draw her in with shorter shots.
Then, when she was able to chase Runestad to the back-left corner, Braun charged and buried a match-winning volley.
That effort capped a second set in which she rattled off six straight games for a 6-3, 6-1 win.
“I felt a little more confident because I did win the first set,” said Braun. “And I just worked on moving her a little bit more than I was in the first set.”
McClain won her first three games against Olivia Roth, then lost three in a row before reclaiming control and taking the first set on a double fault. She cruised in the second set to earn the victory, 6-4, 6-1.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s lone win came in a tiebreaker as it fell 4-1 to the Lions.
Megan Johnson earned the Patriots’ only victory, taking a tiebreaker at No. 3 singles for an 8-7 (7-5) final.
Francine Muhlenkamp dropped the No. 2 singles match, and Cassie Reno lost at No. 2 singles.
Falling in doubles matches were the teams of Kendra Bickel and Megan Smith, and Audrey Dirksen and Kayla Dirksen.
“I knew that I was going to get to play her again, so I was making sure that I concentrated more on my shots,” said Braun. “And I knew how she played … so I made sure to use that to my advantage. …
“She’s a pretty smart player and she likes to hit a lot of lobs. So I had to make sure I didn’t go in too early …”
After falling behind 3-2 in the first set, Braun fought back to win four straight games. She built off that momentum, and her effort to avoid the lob showed up especially in the final point of the match.
Braun calmly stayed at the baseline, keeping her position even when Runestad tried to draw her in with shorter shots.
Then, when she was able to chase Runestad to the back-left corner, Braun charged and buried a match-winning volley.
That effort capped a second set in which she rattled off six straight games for a 6-3, 6-1 win.
“I felt a little more confident because I did win the first set,” said Braun. “And I just worked on moving her a little bit more than I was in the first set.”
McClain won her first three games against Olivia Roth, then lost three in a row before reclaiming control and taking the first set on a double fault. She cruised in the second set to earn the victory, 6-4, 6-1.
Junior varsity
Jay County’s lone win came in a tiebreaker as it fell 4-1 to the Lions.
Megan Johnson earned the Patriots’ only victory, taking a tiebreaker at No. 3 singles for an 8-7 (7-5) final.
Francine Muhlenkamp dropped the No. 2 singles match, and Cassie Reno lost at No. 2 singles.
Falling in doubles matches were the teams of Kendra Bickel and Megan Smith, and Audrey Dirksen and Kayla Dirksen.
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