September 7, 2016 at 5:15 p.m.

Jay sweeps away skid

Patriots get firs twin by routing Rebels
Jay sweeps away skid
Jay sweeps away skid

The skid is no more.
After losing its first six matches of the season, the Jay County High School boys tennis team won for the first time, sweeping sectional rival Randolph Southern 5-0 on Tuesday at home.
“It feels good, no doubt about that,” said Scott Miller, Jay County’s coach, whose team host South Adams at 5 p.m. tonight. “It also feels good that everyone on the team got to experience part of that win.
“Hopefully that can propel us forward, get a little momentum going. We have some winnable matches coming up in the near future. It would be nice to carry that over.”
Much like his team as a whole, Jay County’s No. 1 singles player Garrett Rodgers was winless on the season. And, his matches mostly followed the same script.
Play well early on, fall behind then never be able to recover.
Tuesday against Randolph Southern senior Kyle Slick, the match was well on its way to being another loss for the Jay County junior.
Despite the 3-1 deficit in the opening set, Rodgers was competing with Slick, he just couldn’t figure out a way to get over the hump. Rodgers won the fifth game to cut the deficit to 3-2, but a number of mistakes helped Slick to a 6-3 victory.
“You could see things early on in that first set becoming the same old story; the same match that Garrett has had match after match this season,” Miller said. Rodgers was losing confidence in his shots after having them repeatedly miss the court or hit the net.
“I’ve been playing relatively bad this season, but I’ve been playing some really good competition,” Rodgers said.
The break between sets was precisely what the junior needed to get his confidence back. He won the second set 6-3, then cruised to a 6-1 victory in the decisive third set to get his first win of the season.

“I came to my senses,” said Rodgers, who used a steady diet of running backhanded shots down the left side of the court coupled with strong forehanded winners. “Figured out that (Slick) can make mistakes. I can make mistakes too, but I could keep rallying and making shots that he can’t get to.”
At No. 2 singles, sophomore Gabe Blankenship was challenged in the first set but defeated Jordan McReynolds 7-5, 6-0. It was the first career victory for Blankenship, who was making his varsity debut in a spot role, taking the place of Peyton Heniser. The JCHS junior was involved in an after-school car accident and was a late scratch for the Patriots. He is expected to return to the lineup tonight against the Starfires.
“Really, really proud of Gabe,” Miller said. “Proud of the mentality he took into the match, proud of everything he brought to the team tonight. It was fantastic.
“He played loose. He played free. He went for points. He played like he was happy to be out there and it worked out great for him.”
Fellow sophomore Conner Benter cruised to a victory at No. 3 singles, defeating Josh Good 6-1, 6-0.
Jay County’s No. 1 doubles team of Kyler Hudson and Luke Weaver were hardly challenged by Tyler Pegg and Devin Guthrie. The Patriot duo didn’t lose a set, making easy work of the Rebel tandem to the tune of a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
“My No. 1 doubles team, they are our foundation,” Miller said. “They are our seniors and they mean everything to our whole team.
“I love it when they go out there and win 6-0, 6-0. I don’t care who they are playing, when they walk off that court and they have confidence and they feel good about themselves, that carries over to everybody else.”
Weaver and Hudson — they also won against Union City and Miller said he likes their chances of advancing to regional —were effective both from the net and the baseline, often sending shots between Pegg and Guthrie that went untouched. Hudson, who had the majority of the winning points for the team, capped the nearly flawless evening with a match-winning ace.
At No. 2 doubles, Xavier Ninde and Sheldon Upp defeated Kyle Allen and Jimmy Ashbaugh 6-1, 6-1. It was their first victory together.
In junior varsity action, Jay County freshman Calvin Whitney and sophomore Gavin Randall both beat Tylor Holgalin. Whitney won 8-0, and Randall earned an 8-3 victory.
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