Published: May 18, 2008 12:10 am            

TENNIS: It’s Kats again

Kokomo blanks NW to capture ninth straight sectional crown

Kokomo survived horrendous wind and a pair of determined Howard County foes Saturday afternoon to win its ninth consecutive girls tennis sectional at Kokomo High School.

The Wildkats knocked off co-favorite Eastern 4-1 in the semifinal round before taking out Northwestern 5-0 in the championship. Kokomo (13-6) advances to the Peru Regional on Tuesday where it will face North Central Conference rival Logansport, which beat Twin Lakes 4-1 in the Logansport Sectional. Joining the Kats and the Berries will be Northfield, a 4-1 winner over Maconaquah at the Peru Sectional, and Marion, a 5-0 winner over Madison-Grant at Marion. The winners will return for Wednesday’s championship.

Kokomo coach Rob Leavitt knew his team would need to be at its best Saturday and the Kats persevered over nearly five hours of tennis.

“There was a lot of anticipation for the Eastern match because of their talent,” Leavitt said. “Win or lose, that would have been fun, but we played very well. The 5-0 win over Northwestern wasn’t indicative of how competitive that match was. We had two three-set matches and with a point changed here or there, things could have been different.”

Northwestern coach Lori Miller was pleased with the effort she got from a young team that closed its season at 11-9 and shared the Mid-Indiana Conference title at 6-1.

“We knew playing Kokomo would be difficult,” Miller said. “We wanted to give them a competitive match and I was pleased with the effort. We have only two seniors and a good eighth grade class coming, so we’ll be excited to come back next season.”

The Kats nailed down the victory — the necessary three points — in just under one hour. Alex Beechy won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles to improve to 13-6 before the No. 2 doubles team of Samantha Causey and Kate Bolinger grabbed a 6-4, 6-1 victory. Just minutes later, senior Heather Hemmeger won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 singles for the third and deciding point. Hemmeger improved to 18-0.

“[Beechy] has turned it up a notch the last few weeks and has really been closing out matches,” Leavitt said. “Our No. 2 doubles is peaking at the right time and, of course, Hemmeger has been solid all season.”

Kokomo had to go deep into the afternoon to finish the shutout. Emily Coffman, who played a lengthy three-set match at No. 1 singles earlier in the day against Eastern’s Carly Miles, lost the opening set against NW’s Kayla Griessman (2-6), but re-gained her step to claim 6-1, 6-1 set wins. At No. 1 doubles, Emma Ferrell and Kathleen Reynolds needed 21/2 hours to subdue Sara Poppas and Amy Harshman, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

Kokomo 4, Eastern 1

Eastern coach Patrick Rice came into the season thinking his Comets had a solid chance at ending Kokomo’s stranglehold on the girls sectional title. When Saturday’s 2-hour, 20-minute match ended, he knew his team wasn’t quite ready to make the jump.

“In the end it was their big match experience,” Rice said. “Six of their seven players are seniors and we started some young players. But Kokomo is a great team — we’re not hanging our heads one bit.”

Leavitt agreed that experience and seasoning was huge.

“It was probably our experience against good competition more than anything,” Leavitt said. “I thought going in, it would be a 3-2 match, so 4-1 was a surprise. Eastern has a lot of talent, it’s definitely a team of the future.”

Kokomo decided the outcome in about 90 minutes, winning in straight sets at No. 1 doubles and Nos. 2-3 singles. Ferrell and Reynolds got things started, beating Rachael Lindgren and Kourtney Cox, 6-2, 6-3.

Kokomo’s second point was pivotal for both teams. Beechy played one of her outstanding matches of the season, handing Eastern’s Vanessa Oei her first loss of the season. It was a point the Kats expected to be necessary for a team victory.

“[Oei] had a little case of the nerves in that first set and played much better in the second,” said Rice. “But [Beechy] raised her game [Saturday], that’s one of the best matches I’ve seen her play.”

Hemmeger won at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2 over Vanessa Dove, before the Kats’ No. 2 doubles team of Causey and Bolinger beat Kayci Detweiler and Karisa Burkholder 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Eastern picked up its point at No. 1 singles where Miles stayed unbeaten with a hard-earned 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Emily Coffman. Miles’ win allows the freshman to advance in the singles portion of the state tournament.

Despite the disappointment of seeing their season end, the Comets (12-4) left town with their first winning season in the program’s history.

“We had three underclassmen out there [Saturday] and our JV team posted double-digit wins for the first time,” said Rice. “We’re excited about the future.”

Northwestern 5, Taylor 0

The Tigers cruised through the semifinal with straight set wins at all five spots.

“We played well,” said Miller. “We talked about not overlooking any opponent and the girls came ready to play.”

In the singles positions, Griessman beat Allyson Lipchik 6-3, 6-0, Maddie Sewell stopped Amy Lipchik 6-0, 6-0 and Alba Rodriguez-Diez handled Lori Edwards 6-0, 6-3. At No. 1 doubles, Northwestern’s strongest point, Poppas and Harshman, beat Karen and Kelly Arnold 6-2, 6-2 and at the No. 2 spot, Claire Schoenian and Jackie Adams claimed a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Taylor Allen and Charlotte Harbaugh.

Veteran Taylor coach Dave Wise said Northwestern was simply the stronger, more experienced team.

“Northwestern has improved a lot since we played them early in the season,” Wise said. “We played well in spurts but we couldn’t seem to win the big points. We’ll be much more experienced next season.”

        

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