New team, same result

The Patriots have a lot of new pieces this year.

Despite having a pretty different look, they are still looking poised to have success in the sectional, as proven by their beating of the Golden Falcons.

Jay County High School’s girls tennis team took down the first of its potential sectional opponents on Monday with a 4-1 win over the Winchester Community Golden Falcons.

“It went pretty good,” said JCHS coach Andrea Garringer. “I thought Raylah (Newton) and Faith (Faulkner) played really well at doubles tonight. Was really proud of our three singles that won. So, a good win for us to get against Winchester because these are our sectional (opponents).”

After dropping their varsity debuts on Thursday, a trio of Patriots picked up their first career wins on varsity. Tessa Frazee notched her first career point with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Karina Jarrett in the No. 3 singles, while Faith Faulkner and Raylah Newton handled the No. 1 doubles against Brooklyn Friend and Addison Haney for a 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 win.

The duo cruised in the first set before going down 2-1 early in the second and never recovering. They also fell behind 2-1 in the third but won the next two games to reclaim the lead and eventually win the match.

Frazee started off strong against Jarrett, but she let the Golden Falcon slowly creep back into the first set before finishing it off. The JCHS sophomore dropped one of the first two games in the second but kept control after to secure the point.

“I feel excited,” said Frazee. “I feel like I deserved that win. … I kept focusing on where the wind was going and how hard I could hit on either side. I would just take a deep breath if I was getting over excited to hit the ball.”

Even though Frazee was in control, she still had to work for the second set. The fourth game of the set exemplified that as the two traded points back and forth. Frazee would continuously gain an advantage, but a pair of backhands that sailed long, a well placed forehand by Jarrett and a scoring error (Frazee ran in on a ball and hit an underhand shot that bounced twice, but the two lost track of the score before agreeing to call it deuce) kept bringing the score back to deuce. After deadlocking for 13 points, Jarrett sent a forehand wide left and double faulted to give Frazee the game.

Jay County’s No. 1 and 2 singles players, Brenna Bailey and Meredith Dirksen had a smoother time in their matches.

“They’re very consistent with what they’re doing,” Garringer said. “They are really strong and I don’t have to worry too much about my one and two.”

In a battle between two undefeated players, Bailey handed Emily Cockerill her first loss of the season 6-1, 6-1.

Dirksen faced Addyson Bogue and took her down 6-0, 6-1 in under an hour to pick up the first point for Jay County (2-2). After competing as a doubles player for the past two seasons, Dirksen has transitioned smoothly into the No. 2 singles spot while constructing a 3-1 record.

“It’s definitely different not having Sophie (Sprunger) there to encourage me,” Dirksen said. “But I think it helps me to get more touches on the ball too. … I think my serves really helped make it go faster and succeed (today).” 

Kaitlyn Fisher and Chloe Muhlenkamp suffered the only loss of the day for Jay County 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).  The duo got behind 5-3 to Jorja Anderson and Julia Hargarten in the second set, but fought their way back to take a 6-5 lead. Hargarten baited a trio of shots into the net before a final point shanked off of Fischer’s racket to tie the match up at 6-6. The Golden Falcon (3-2) pair seized control in the tiebreaker to claim the point.

The win against Winchester is a good sign for the Patriots, who have won the previous four sectional championships. While Jay County has yet to play Randolph Southern and Union City, the Golden Falcons have already beat both teams on the season.

Photo Gallery

Jay County girls tennis vs. Winchester (4/21/2025)