July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Unbeaten to the title (10/03/05)
JCHS boys tennis
Unbeaten to the title (10/03/05)
By By RAY COONEY-
MARION — Despite a 2-0 deficit the Mississinewa Indians had reason to be hopeful. But soon Jay County erased their chances.
The Patriots won their third boys tennis sectional championship in school history — and third in six years — with a 5-0 victory over Mississinewa Saturday.
“The third time in six years is awfully fun,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver, who coached teams to titles in 2000 and 2002. “The kids enjoyed it, they had a great time ... Overall they played outstanding. Up-and-down the line I was real proud of them. They did a super job.”
Jay County now advances to the Peru regional where it will meet Twin Lakes Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The other regional semifinal match will pit Kokomo against the host Tigers, and the winners will meet for the regional title Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Twin Lakes, a team which boasts seven seniors, reached the regional round by defeated Logansport 4-1 and Cass 5-0 to win the Logansport sectional.
The Patriots’ sectional victories improved them to 15-3 on the season as they continue to extend their single-season wins record. All three wins came by a 5-0 score with Jay County sweeping all 15 matches en route to the sectional title.
“That’s not your common occurrence,” said Weaver, who has led the team for 30 years. “That’s what happened in 2000 when we won our first one. It’s nice to repeat that same process.
“Today was probably the longest 5-0 match I’ve seen in forever it seems like. It was close.”
It was close despite Jay County cruising at the No. 1 spots and needing just one more win to claim the crown. Of the remaining three matches, two were in third sets and the other looked headed in the same direction.
Heath Rigby and Thomas McCowan, a couple of first-year varsity players, had eked out a 7-5 win in the first set only to find themselves down 5-4 in the second. They managed to win the next two games, putting the ball in Rigby’s hands with a chance to serve out the match.
The Patriot pair lost the first point of the second set’s 12th game, but won the next two taking a 30-15 lead on an overhead slam by McCowan. Mississinewa’s Brandon Schuler and Nick Estrada pulled even at 30-30, but hit a shot long on the next point to give Jay County a chance at victory.
The Indians’ missed on another shot, this time wide left, on match point to give Rigby and McCowan a 7-5, 7-5 win and the Patriots the third victory they needed to seal the sectional title.
Literally moments later Josh Ludy walked off the court with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 win over Aron Riggs at No. 2 singles. Phil Powell also won in his third set at No. 3 singles to finish off Eric Griffin 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 and complete the 5-0 victory.
“That was really super,” said Weaver of his No. 2 doubles pair. “... Heath had never played before and Thomas played JV last year so for those two to get the third point to go over the top was fantastic. Their eyes lit up ... They were smiling when they came off the court.”
Hess had plenty of reason to smile as he mopped the court with Jonathan Rudy at No. 1 singles. He won the first 11 games as Rudy had all kinds of trouble returning his serve and finished with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
The win improved him to 17-4 on the season and 65-16 for his career. He has shattered Jay County’s career wins mark, which stood at 49 prior to this season.
Tyler Rigby and Randy Evans were impressive at No. 1 doubles as they defeated Tyler Click and Scott Schuler. Rigby and Evans needed three sets to get past Click and Schuler 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 and earn a trip to the state sweet 16 last season, but had no such trouble this year.
The duo finished off the first set on an overhead slam by Rigby and then dominated the second. They completed their 6-4, 6-1 victory when a shot by Click went into the net.
Evans and Tyler Rigby have posted a 18-3 mark this season, and are 23-4 since the beginning of the 2004 tournament. Ludy is 13-8, Powell stands at 12-8 and Heath Rigby and McCowan have evened their mark at 10-10 thanks to five straight victories.
Weaver said he’s looking forward to seeing his team take the next step.
“We are going to run into much tougher competition and that’s to be expected,” he said of the regional tournament. “The good part is we’ll find out what we’re capable of.”
Semifinal
Jay County made it to Saturday’s championship with a 5-0 win over the Blackford Bruins Friday. Mississinewa defeated Madison-Grant 4-1.
The Patriots gave up just two games in three of those victories.
Kurt Hess rolled at No. 1 singles by a 6-2, 6-0 score over Brian Bradford. At No. 1 doubles Tyler Rigby and Randy Evans cruised past Wes Ford and Adam Durm 6-1, 6-1, and Heath Rigby and Thomas McCowan won by the same count over Mitch Glentzer and Andy Langdon at No. 2 doubles.
It took Jay County three sets to win the other two matches as Phil Powell took down Michael Estep 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Josh Ludy knocked off Nick Baughey 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.[[In-content Ad]]
The Patriots won their third boys tennis sectional championship in school history — and third in six years — with a 5-0 victory over Mississinewa Saturday.
“The third time in six years is awfully fun,” said JCHS coach Barry Weaver, who coached teams to titles in 2000 and 2002. “The kids enjoyed it, they had a great time ... Overall they played outstanding. Up-and-down the line I was real proud of them. They did a super job.”
Jay County now advances to the Peru regional where it will meet Twin Lakes Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The other regional semifinal match will pit Kokomo against the host Tigers, and the winners will meet for the regional title Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.
Twin Lakes, a team which boasts seven seniors, reached the regional round by defeated Logansport 4-1 and Cass 5-0 to win the Logansport sectional.
The Patriots’ sectional victories improved them to 15-3 on the season as they continue to extend their single-season wins record. All three wins came by a 5-0 score with Jay County sweeping all 15 matches en route to the sectional title.
“That’s not your common occurrence,” said Weaver, who has led the team for 30 years. “That’s what happened in 2000 when we won our first one. It’s nice to repeat that same process.
“Today was probably the longest 5-0 match I’ve seen in forever it seems like. It was close.”
It was close despite Jay County cruising at the No. 1 spots and needing just one more win to claim the crown. Of the remaining three matches, two were in third sets and the other looked headed in the same direction.
Heath Rigby and Thomas McCowan, a couple of first-year varsity players, had eked out a 7-5 win in the first set only to find themselves down 5-4 in the second. They managed to win the next two games, putting the ball in Rigby’s hands with a chance to serve out the match.
The Patriot pair lost the first point of the second set’s 12th game, but won the next two taking a 30-15 lead on an overhead slam by McCowan. Mississinewa’s Brandon Schuler and Nick Estrada pulled even at 30-30, but hit a shot long on the next point to give Jay County a chance at victory.
The Indians’ missed on another shot, this time wide left, on match point to give Rigby and McCowan a 7-5, 7-5 win and the Patriots the third victory they needed to seal the sectional title.
Literally moments later Josh Ludy walked off the court with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 win over Aron Riggs at No. 2 singles. Phil Powell also won in his third set at No. 3 singles to finish off Eric Griffin 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 and complete the 5-0 victory.
“That was really super,” said Weaver of his No. 2 doubles pair. “... Heath had never played before and Thomas played JV last year so for those two to get the third point to go over the top was fantastic. Their eyes lit up ... They were smiling when they came off the court.”
Hess had plenty of reason to smile as he mopped the court with Jonathan Rudy at No. 1 singles. He won the first 11 games as Rudy had all kinds of trouble returning his serve and finished with a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
The win improved him to 17-4 on the season and 65-16 for his career. He has shattered Jay County’s career wins mark, which stood at 49 prior to this season.
Tyler Rigby and Randy Evans were impressive at No. 1 doubles as they defeated Tyler Click and Scott Schuler. Rigby and Evans needed three sets to get past Click and Schuler 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 and earn a trip to the state sweet 16 last season, but had no such trouble this year.
The duo finished off the first set on an overhead slam by Rigby and then dominated the second. They completed their 6-4, 6-1 victory when a shot by Click went into the net.
Evans and Tyler Rigby have posted a 18-3 mark this season, and are 23-4 since the beginning of the 2004 tournament. Ludy is 13-8, Powell stands at 12-8 and Heath Rigby and McCowan have evened their mark at 10-10 thanks to five straight victories.
Weaver said he’s looking forward to seeing his team take the next step.
“We are going to run into much tougher competition and that’s to be expected,” he said of the regional tournament. “The good part is we’ll find out what we’re capable of.”
Semifinal
Jay County made it to Saturday’s championship with a 5-0 win over the Blackford Bruins Friday. Mississinewa defeated Madison-Grant 4-1.
The Patriots gave up just two games in three of those victories.
Kurt Hess rolled at No. 1 singles by a 6-2, 6-0 score over Brian Bradford. At No. 1 doubles Tyler Rigby and Randy Evans cruised past Wes Ford and Adam Durm 6-1, 6-1, and Heath Rigby and Thomas McCowan won by the same count over Mitch Glentzer and Andy Langdon at No. 2 doubles.
It took Jay County three sets to win the other two matches as Phil Powell took down Michael Estep 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. Josh Ludy knocked off Nick Baughey 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.[[In-content Ad]]
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