July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay tennis back at .500 (04/22/05)
JCHS tennis
Jay tennis back at .500 (04/22/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
PORTLAND — Jay County’s girls tennis team didn’t win back-to-back matches at all last season. It did so for the first time this year Thursday, while also matching the 2004 win total.
The Patriots climbed back to .500, topping the Muncie Southside Rebels 3-2. The victory followed last week’s 3-2 win over Bluffton.
“It feels real good,” said first-year coach Jerry Klopfenstein. “I hope we can keep that win streak going. I’m kind of looking forward to the DeKalb Invitational (Saturday, April 30) to see how we do there.
“We did well (tonight), played well. We lost some tough matches, but I think overall we’re definitely improving. That’s all that I can hope for.”
Julie Sours paced the Patriots, who went just 3-12 last season, as she and former doubles partner Erin St. Myers rolled in singles action.
Sours played as if time was of the essence, bowling over Southside junior Ashley Garrett in speedy fashion. She cruised through the first five games of the opening set before falling behind 30-15 in the sixth. But, she won the next three consecutive points, two on unforced errors from Garrett, to sweep the first set.
The senior again dominated the second set to a 5-0 lead and went up 30-love as Garrett served to stay alive. Garrett rallied back to 30-30, but Sours drilled a pair of forehand winners to seal the 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles.
St. Myers was equally convincing in her first set, also rolling to a 6-0 victory. She gave up a few games in the second set to Beth Kimbrell of the Rebels, but still took the No. 2 singles win 6-0, 6-3.
“Three years of playing doubles — it takes a lot to break that mold of relying on a partner to get to those shots,” said Klopfenstein. “I think they’re coming into their own now. When they first started out they hated (singles), but now they’re starting to like it.”
Jay County’s No. 1 doubles team of Brianne Morrical and Chelsea Reff grabbed the third win to complete the team victory.
They were up 3-0 in the opening set before giving up a couple of games. But, they still took the set, 6-2.
Morrical and Reff fell behind 1-0 to Jenny Benavides and Jordan McIntire to open the second set. They reclaimed the lead at 2-1 only to have the Southside pair pull even at three games apiece.
However, the Patriot duo took each of the next two games and then dominated the ninth with Reff serving. They won the first two points and then earned a triple match-point when the Rebels couldn’t return a Reff serve.
Southside managed to return the next one, but Morrical didn’t let the point last long as she nailed a volley winner to cap the 6-2, 6-3 victory.
“A lot of the girls are being more aggressive on the court,” said Klopfenstein. “They’re playing offensively instead of playing defensively and attacking the net a lot more. They’re working the ball and moving their opponents a lot more.”
Each of the Patriot losses on the night neared a tie-breaker in one set. Whitney Schemenaur dropped a tough first set 7-5 at No. 1 singles in a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Jamie Char. Stephanie Homan and Carissa Wilkins nearly forced a second-set tie-breaker against Courtney Williams and Jennifer Osborne, but fell just short in a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.
Jay County also won the junior varsity match against Muncie Southside, 3-2.[[In-content Ad]]
The Patriots climbed back to .500, topping the Muncie Southside Rebels 3-2. The victory followed last week’s 3-2 win over Bluffton.
“It feels real good,” said first-year coach Jerry Klopfenstein. “I hope we can keep that win streak going. I’m kind of looking forward to the DeKalb Invitational (Saturday, April 30) to see how we do there.
“We did well (tonight), played well. We lost some tough matches, but I think overall we’re definitely improving. That’s all that I can hope for.”
Julie Sours paced the Patriots, who went just 3-12 last season, as she and former doubles partner Erin St. Myers rolled in singles action.
Sours played as if time was of the essence, bowling over Southside junior Ashley Garrett in speedy fashion. She cruised through the first five games of the opening set before falling behind 30-15 in the sixth. But, she won the next three consecutive points, two on unforced errors from Garrett, to sweep the first set.
The senior again dominated the second set to a 5-0 lead and went up 30-love as Garrett served to stay alive. Garrett rallied back to 30-30, but Sours drilled a pair of forehand winners to seal the 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 3 singles.
St. Myers was equally convincing in her first set, also rolling to a 6-0 victory. She gave up a few games in the second set to Beth Kimbrell of the Rebels, but still took the No. 2 singles win 6-0, 6-3.
“Three years of playing doubles — it takes a lot to break that mold of relying on a partner to get to those shots,” said Klopfenstein. “I think they’re coming into their own now. When they first started out they hated (singles), but now they’re starting to like it.”
Jay County’s No. 1 doubles team of Brianne Morrical and Chelsea Reff grabbed the third win to complete the team victory.
They were up 3-0 in the opening set before giving up a couple of games. But, they still took the set, 6-2.
Morrical and Reff fell behind 1-0 to Jenny Benavides and Jordan McIntire to open the second set. They reclaimed the lead at 2-1 only to have the Southside pair pull even at three games apiece.
However, the Patriot duo took each of the next two games and then dominated the ninth with Reff serving. They won the first two points and then earned a triple match-point when the Rebels couldn’t return a Reff serve.
Southside managed to return the next one, but Morrical didn’t let the point last long as she nailed a volley winner to cap the 6-2, 6-3 victory.
“A lot of the girls are being more aggressive on the court,” said Klopfenstein. “They’re playing offensively instead of playing defensively and attacking the net a lot more. They’re working the ball and moving their opponents a lot more.”
Each of the Patriot losses on the night neared a tie-breaker in one set. Whitney Schemenaur dropped a tough first set 7-5 at No. 1 singles in a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Jamie Char. Stephanie Homan and Carissa Wilkins nearly forced a second-set tie-breaker against Courtney Williams and Jennifer Osborne, but fell just short in a 6-3, 7-5 defeat.
Jay County also won the junior varsity match against Muncie Southside, 3-2.[[In-content Ad]]
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