Patriots, Giants make final (05/24/03)

MARION — The stage is set once again for a Sectional Saturday showdown between the Jay County Patriots and the Marion Giants.

Jay County (7-7) secured itself a slot in the championship tennis match with a 5-0 victory over the Madison-Grant Argylls Friday. The Patriots will play host Marion for the title for the third straight season Saturday at 10 a.m.

Marion, the defending sectional champion, had a similarly easy road to the finals as it defeated Blackford 5-0 Thursday and Mississnewa 5-0 Friday. The Giants defeated Jay County 5-0 in their regular-season meeting this year.

“They’re just going to have to stay focused,” said Jay County coach Deb Miller of what it would take for the Patriots to reenact the upset of the Giants they pulled off two seasons ago. “They just have to play their game.

“I told the girls after playing Delta (Monday) to keep the level of competition high all this week. We didn’t want to let down.”

Jay County had no problem playing just the match it wanted to against Madison-Grant, especially at its three singles positions.

Leading the charge to the easy win was senior Kelly Hess. Playing at No. 3 singles, she barely had time to break a sweat.

In just longer than the blink of an eye, Hess had the Argylls’ Tasha Pelly down 5-0. She quickly finished the first set, breaking Pelly’s serve for the third time at love.

Hess did give up one game early in the second set, but quickly recovered. She went up 5-1 and this time served out the final game at love to finish off the match 6-0, 6-1.

Daniela Harringer didn’t take much longer than the half-hour needed by Hess, quickly disposing of Lindsay James at No. 1 singles. Harringer dropped the second game of her match when she double faulted three times, but was unstoppable from that point one.

She did not lose another game to James as she dominated her way to a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

Kristen Klatt also had a solid night at No. 2 doubles. She fought off some minor jitters early to take a 6-1, 6-1 win and complete the singles sweep, securing the team victory for Jay County.

“I’m pleased that Kelly Hess got off the court quickly,” said Miller. “It was the same thing with Dani (Harringer).

“Klatt took a little while to warm up, but she was successful.”

The Patriots’ victories in doubles matches were not quite so easy, but the pairs of Julie Sours and Erin St. Myers, and Chelsea Reff and Erin Schmiesing were able to complete the shut out.

Reff and Schmiesing had to fight for a 6-4 win in the first set, but took a quick lead in the second and never looked back. They kept a three-game lead all the way, and ended the second set on a Chelsea Reff volley after failing to convert on a triple match point earlier in the game.

The final score for the partners in just their third match together was a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jessica Dykhoff and Morgan Deal.

Sours and St. Myers had a similar first set against Shea Smock and Michaela Conner, needing to fight back from a 3-2 deficit. They were able to do so, winning the next four games for a 6-3, first-set win.

Smock and Conner would not go away however, pulling ahead 6-5 in the second set. Still, Sours and St. Myers were able to rally back to force a tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker was as tight as the rest of the match had been, with the team’s swapping sides of the court for the second time in a 6-6 deadlock.

Then Jay County took care of business as Sours hit a winner for a 7-6 lead. The Patriots took the tiebreaker, the set and the match 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) on the next point when Smock knocked a shot into the net.

“Julie and Erin were very focused,” said Miller. “They were playing aggressive.

“(Reff and Schmiesing) are still getting the teamwork between them. I think they’re doing very well for the time they’ve been playing together.”[[In-content Ad]]