Jay cruises to final

The Patriots were ready for the tournament, and no one showed it more than Shelby McClain.
The sophomore got her match started a couple of minutes before the rest of her teammates and cruised through the first four points to win her opening game at love.
And then she won the next four.
And then the next four.
McClain swept the first three games in 12 consecutive points before finally giving one up to start the fourth. Her early dominance was just a sign of things to come, as the entire Jay County High School girls tennis team blitzed the Union City Indians in a 5-0 victory in the semifinal round of the sectional.
“It was a strong match,” said JCHS coach Susan Garringer, whose team gave up no more than a single game in any set and lost only five total. “They played their game of tennis and not their opponent’s game, so I was pleased with that.”
The host Patriots advance to the final at 5 p.m. tonight, when they will take on Winchester. The Golden Falcons, who shut out JCHS earlier this season, were also in control Thursday as they won their semifinal match 5-0 over Randolph Southern.
Jay County won 33 games against Winchester the first time around, but wasn’t able to take any sets.
“I thought we played strong when we played Winchester before, but we weren’t smart,” said Garringer, whose team has topped the Golden Falcons 3-2 for each of its last two sectional crowns. “We didn’t keep on our game. But we were very competitive with them. …
“I look for them to play with more confidence … and they’re ready. They want to win.
“The girls can do it, and they’re up for this.”
McClain was more than ready Thursday as she caught fire in the early going against Union City freshman Emalee Bocanegra at No. 2 singles, typically needing only one shot beyond her serve to earn a point in the first three games. She fell behind 40-15 in the fourth game, but rallied back to deuce before smacking a winner up the middle to take the game.
She never looked back, sweeping through both sets for a 6-0, 6-0 win.
“She’s always excited to play,” said Garringer. “And she has good confidence in her game.”
No. 1 singles player Kyra Braun was nearly as dominant as she also finished her day with a shutout win. She had to fight through more close games against Union City’s Katie Rismiller, but was able to come through every time.
She finished her match by hitting a deep shot that Rismiller chased down but was unable to get back into play.
“I was happy to see her still play her game,” said Garringer. “Her opponent … was basically just getting the ball back to her and taking a little bit of the pace off. Kyra kept the pace on the ball. Her strength is hitting the ball deep … and then setting herself up to get to the net.”
Megan Johnson nearly gave the Patriots a third singles sweep as she breezed past Tiffany Edwards in the first few games. She took 11 in a row before Edwards finally broke through, and then broke Edwards’ serve at love in the 13th for her 6-0, 6-1 win.
Both JCHS doubles squads — Abby Reier and Abby Saxman at No. 1 and cousins Kayla Dirksen and Audrey Dirksen at No. 2 — recorded 6-1, 6-1 victories.
The Dirksens gave up a game early in both sets, but didn’t let the early hiccups rattle them. They took the final four games of both sets, with Tiffany Reagan and Sydney Ralston unable to return Audrey’s serve on the final two points.
The Abbys won their first three games and finished off the first set on Reier’s serve when a Union City return went wide right. Reier then hit a solid return of serve in the seventh game of the second set to set up a volley winner that finished off the victory over Allie Conklin and Emily Cline.
“I saw them use the alley more,” said Garringer. “They’re hitting down the line with pretty good consistency, and that is so important. Too often they were hitting back to that net player early in the season. Now, not only have they improved with their cross court, they’re using the alleys more.”