Jay Co. netters sweep Rebels

The Patriots are in prime position to win their third consecutive sectional title.
Having already defeated Winchester and Union City earlier in the season, the Jay County High School girls tennis team knocked off the Randolph Southern Rebels on Tuesday by a score of 5-0.
It was the second clean sweep of a sectional foe. Jay County beat Union City 5-0 on April 27. Three days later, the Patriots defeated Winchester, 4-1, and now hold the advantage against all three sectional opponents.
“Sectional isn’t going to be easy,” said JCHS coach Susan Garringer, whose team hosts the tournament which begins May 6. “Nobody is really out of the sectional until this thing is played. We have to be ready.
“The toughest competition is going to be Winchester. Even though we beat them (in the) regular season, we still have work to do.”
Garringer’s Patriots (5-5) were hardly challenged against the Rebels on Tuesday.
Jessica Kerrigan and Kyra Braun won easily at No. 1 and No. 2 singles respectively. Kerrigan defeated Jasmine Thorne 6-0, 6-0, and Braun defeated Sindy Williams by the same score.
Michelle Wellman, who had been battling a shoulder injury for most of the season and was also fighting an illness, defeated Molly Hunt at No. 3 singles, 6-1, 6-0.
The senior won the first four games of the opening set before Hunt was able to break the shutout. Wellman took the final two games with an overpowering first serve and a strong forehand.
“She has a nice, strong (and) consistent serve when she can get it working for her,” Garringer said. “I think that’s kind of a strong point of her game.”
Wellman rebounded from the loss in game five to win eight straight to take the match.
With a healthy Wellman, it has created a bit of competition between her and freshman Shelby McClain. Garringer used McClain — she won the only junior varsity match against the Rebels, 8-1 — in Wellman’s absence, and the coach is happy to have options for her lineup come sectional.
“It’s a healthy competition,” Garringer said. McClain was one of two Patriots to pick up a win in a 3-2 loss Friday to defending Allen County Athletic Conference champion Leo. “It fosters a healthy, competitive spirit for the whole team. It’s nice that we have someone else that we can put in that spot if we need to.”
Jay County’s No. 2 doubles team of Abby Reier and Abby Saxman cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory against Hannah Ridgeway and Mikayla Barron. After taking the first set easily, Saxman and Reier were one game away from a clean sweep, but a double fault on back-to-back points gave the 12th game to the Rebels.
Ridgeway and Barron weren’t able to get much in the way of momentum despite taking the 13th and final game to deuce. Reier, who had used a steady stream of shots down the line throughout the match, broke the trend with a forehand down the middle between Ridgeway and Barron for match point.
At No. 1 doubles, Faith Parr and Emily Westgerdes were two games away from taking the first set without losing a game, but Hannah Haines and Emily Fox rallied to win three straight to trail 4-3. The Patriot senior duo won the next two games, then took the second set 6-1 to complete the sweep for Jay County.
“They obviously felt good they won the match,” Garringer said of Parr and Westgerdes, who battled with Leo’s top pair on Friday but lost 6-3, 6-1. “Because of the windy conditions it was hard for them to judge (if they played their best). I would have obviously preferred to have no wind or even a tougher competition, but that’s OK.”
One of the goals Garringer set heading into the season was for the Patriots to improve their 3-11 record from last year. Jay County is one win away from equaling its win total from the previous two years combined, and with three matches remaining it has the chance to finish the regular season above .500.
“Records don’t say everything, but they do say something,” Garringer said. “It was a goal of ours to have a little more of a winning season going into sectional. We lost a few matches (3-2) that we as a team feel we should have won.
“I think everyone is playing pretty good, solid tennis. I can honestly say that I see the play improve match to match.”