July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay County falls, but Morrical/Reff head to regional (05/23/05)
JCHS girls tennis
Jay County falls, but Morrical/Reff head to regional (05/23/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
MARION — Before the season began Brianne Morrical and Chelsea Reff didn’t expect to be playing No. 1 doubles. So they certainly didn’t expect to advance to the doubles tournament at Peru.
Now they know to expect the unexpected, as the Circus Capital of the World is exactly where they will be headed this week.
Jay County’s girls tennis team lost 3-2 to Marion in Saturday’s sectional championship match, but Morrical and Reff earned the chance to continue playing with a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Joanna Lucas and Larissa Barrido. They move on thanks to an undefeated record in the team sectional, and will play in the doubles sectional at Peru — also the site of the team regional which begins Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
“We didn’t think it would happen,” said Reff as Morrical agreed, noting the team’s season record.
The pair finished the regular season at just 3-12, and only two of those wins came at No. 1 doubles. They took over the top doubles spot a few matches into the year after the former pair of Erin St. Myers and Julie Sours moved to singles action.
They doubled their season win total in the sectional tournament, going 3-0 with all three of those victories coming in three sets. The last one against Marion’s Lucas and Barrido came despite a 5-3 deficit in the third and deciding set.
With elimination staring them in the face, Morrical and Reff started their comeback by breaking Lucas’ serve. They took the game by breaking a 30-30 tie with a back-to-back volley winners, the first by Reff and the second by Morrical.
The next two games belonged entirely to the Patriots, with Reff serving them to victory at love for a 5-5 tie. The duo then broke Barrido’s serves at love to pull into the lead.
Lucas and Barrido showed some fight in the 12th game of the third set by taking a 30-15 lead, but the Jay County pair stood strong. After a volley try by Barrido hit the top of the net and fell back on the Marion side of the net to even the game the Giants committed back-to-back unforced errors to give Morrical and Reff the win.
“We forgot about past mistakes and moved on,” said Morrical of the rally to win four straight games to take the match. “We had fun.”
“That’s what we have to do if we want to win,” added Reff. “We just have to relax and play like nothing matters.”
Although the Patriots (7-9) have now lost four straight sectional championship matches to Marion, which won its 26th sectional title, they have sent either a singles player or doubles team on in three of the last four. In 2002 Kristen Klatt advanced in singles action, and Sours and St. Myers played in the doubles sectional last season.
Morrical and Reff made their run to Peru with three straight three-set wins. They topped Trudy Valentine and Kathryn Ehrhart of Blackford 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 Thursday night and beat Mississinewa’s Stacey Koontz and Angel Warran in Friday’s semifinals 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
“I saw (Friday) night all over again,” said JCHS coach Jerry Klopfenstein of Morrical and Reff, who have made a habit of going to three sets this year. “I told them, they don’t win pretty, but they win. That’s all that mattered to me.
“I know they don’t give up. They’re always in it. When they miss a point they come back and try to get the next one, and that’s what they did.”
Erin St. Myers completed an outstanding senior season by picking up the Patriots’ other win against Marion. She won the first three games of the first set only to have Meryl Lester pull to within 4-3. However, Lester never won another game.
St. Myers ran off eight in a row, dominating a shutout second set for a 6-3, 6-0 win. She finished with a 14-3 record this season at No. 2 singles.
“Day in and day out she does everything consistently and she wears her opponent out,” said Klopfenstein. “She’s hitting the ground strokes. She comes out and does a great job.”
Jay County, which lost 4-1 to the Giants during the regular season, had a chance to swipe the sectional title with Morrical and Reff and No. 3 singles player Julie Sours going to three sets. But, Amee Patel of Marion overcame a rough second set to fight off Sours 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Marion also got a 6-0, 6-0 win from Stephanie Flaig over Whitney Schemenaur at No. 1 singles, and a 6-4, 6-4 victory from Alyssa Curfman and Carling Barrett against Stephanie Homan and Carissa Wilkins at No. 2 doubles.
“These girls worked hard all year,” said Klopfenstein. “Coming with a losing record into sectional sometimes you feel a little intimidated by good competition.”
But, that didn’t happen. The Patriots nearly turned around the regular-season result to top the school which has won the second most girls tennis sectionals in Indiana history.
So, “I’m happy,” Klopfenstein added. “I can’t be down on them because they played and gave it their all.”[[In-content Ad]]
Now they know to expect the unexpected, as the Circus Capital of the World is exactly where they will be headed this week.
Jay County’s girls tennis team lost 3-2 to Marion in Saturday’s sectional championship match, but Morrical and Reff earned the chance to continue playing with a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Joanna Lucas and Larissa Barrido. They move on thanks to an undefeated record in the team sectional, and will play in the doubles sectional at Peru — also the site of the team regional which begins Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.
“We didn’t think it would happen,” said Reff as Morrical agreed, noting the team’s season record.
The pair finished the regular season at just 3-12, and only two of those wins came at No. 1 doubles. They took over the top doubles spot a few matches into the year after the former pair of Erin St. Myers and Julie Sours moved to singles action.
They doubled their season win total in the sectional tournament, going 3-0 with all three of those victories coming in three sets. The last one against Marion’s Lucas and Barrido came despite a 5-3 deficit in the third and deciding set.
With elimination staring them in the face, Morrical and Reff started their comeback by breaking Lucas’ serve. They took the game by breaking a 30-30 tie with a back-to-back volley winners, the first by Reff and the second by Morrical.
The next two games belonged entirely to the Patriots, with Reff serving them to victory at love for a 5-5 tie. The duo then broke Barrido’s serves at love to pull into the lead.
Lucas and Barrido showed some fight in the 12th game of the third set by taking a 30-15 lead, but the Jay County pair stood strong. After a volley try by Barrido hit the top of the net and fell back on the Marion side of the net to even the game the Giants committed back-to-back unforced errors to give Morrical and Reff the win.
“We forgot about past mistakes and moved on,” said Morrical of the rally to win four straight games to take the match. “We had fun.”
“That’s what we have to do if we want to win,” added Reff. “We just have to relax and play like nothing matters.”
Although the Patriots (7-9) have now lost four straight sectional championship matches to Marion, which won its 26th sectional title, they have sent either a singles player or doubles team on in three of the last four. In 2002 Kristen Klatt advanced in singles action, and Sours and St. Myers played in the doubles sectional last season.
Morrical and Reff made their run to Peru with three straight three-set wins. They topped Trudy Valentine and Kathryn Ehrhart of Blackford 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 Thursday night and beat Mississinewa’s Stacey Koontz and Angel Warran in Friday’s semifinals 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-5.
“I saw (Friday) night all over again,” said JCHS coach Jerry Klopfenstein of Morrical and Reff, who have made a habit of going to three sets this year. “I told them, they don’t win pretty, but they win. That’s all that mattered to me.
“I know they don’t give up. They’re always in it. When they miss a point they come back and try to get the next one, and that’s what they did.”
Erin St. Myers completed an outstanding senior season by picking up the Patriots’ other win against Marion. She won the first three games of the first set only to have Meryl Lester pull to within 4-3. However, Lester never won another game.
St. Myers ran off eight in a row, dominating a shutout second set for a 6-3, 6-0 win. She finished with a 14-3 record this season at No. 2 singles.
“Day in and day out she does everything consistently and she wears her opponent out,” said Klopfenstein. “She’s hitting the ground strokes. She comes out and does a great job.”
Jay County, which lost 4-1 to the Giants during the regular season, had a chance to swipe the sectional title with Morrical and Reff and No. 3 singles player Julie Sours going to three sets. But, Amee Patel of Marion overcame a rough second set to fight off Sours 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Marion also got a 6-0, 6-0 win from Stephanie Flaig over Whitney Schemenaur at No. 1 singles, and a 6-4, 6-4 victory from Alyssa Curfman and Carling Barrett against Stephanie Homan and Carissa Wilkins at No. 2 doubles.
“These girls worked hard all year,” said Klopfenstein. “Coming with a losing record into sectional sometimes you feel a little intimidated by good competition.”
But, that didn’t happen. The Patriots nearly turned around the regular-season result to top the school which has won the second most girls tennis sectionals in Indiana history.
So, “I’m happy,” Klopfenstein added. “I can’t be down on them because they played and gave it their all.”[[In-content Ad]]
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