Columbus East coach Matt Malinsky talked to his team last week about being relaxed on the tennis courts.
The Olympians, who were coming off a pair of losses in the April 15 Brownsburg Invitational, responded with three consecutive wins last week. Monday, they won their fourth in a row, a 4-1 victory against Jennings County.
“They were pretty sharp,” Malinsky said. “I was really happy with how relaxed they were. We talked a lot about breathing the last few practices and just relaxing and making sure we’re hitting through our shots. I think we’ve done that much better the past couple matches.”
East (8-3) posted two shutouts and lost only two total games at the three singles positions. Megna Chari beat Avis McGovern 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles.
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“I was concentrated and focused,” Chari said. “We all were, basically. And I was consistent with my shots.”
The Olympians’ Adycin Rager topped Rebecca Driver 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. Alaysha Pollert blanked Hailey Brown 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.
East’s other win came at No. 1 doubles, where Kendall Gerken and Carolyn Travis beat Ellie Hearne and Maddy Hill 6-4, 6-2.
“I thought we took care of business pretty well at the singles spots,” Malinsky said. “Even at 2 doubles, we made some strides during the match, even though they ended up losing. One doubles was down in that first set, and they ended up coming back, so that was a really nice turnaround. They started doing some things that we’ve been working on a little bit better.”
At No. 2 doubles, the Panthers’ Abigail DeCamp and Callie Wilder claimed a 6-2, 6-4 win against Emie Kiser and Maddy Rhodes.
Jennings coach Deron Brown said the No. 2 doubles team has been a bright spot all year for the Panthers (4-3).
“Two doubles is pretty solid for is,” Jennings coach Deron Brown said. “It was one of the points we thought we had a shot at. We knew that their three singles spots were pretty good and was an obstacle that would be pretty tough to conquer.”
