SEYMOUR — Hours before the first fuzzy yellow ball crossed the net, Columbus East girls tennis coach Matt Malinsky had a good feeling.
The stretch of cold, wet weather had broken, lifting the spirits of the Olympians.
East (2-2) took advantage of sunny skies and dry conditions Thursday by going on the road to defeat Hoosier Hills Conference foe Seymour 4-1 in a rescheduled match.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryAt No. 1 singles, Megna Chari topped the Owls’ Grace Otte 6-1, 6-0. The Olympians’ Kathryn Hodzen shut out Sandra Cerino 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles spot, while Louna Prince defeated Chloe Bryden 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles.
“I think No. 1 and No. 2 came out and played really strong,” Malinsky said. “At No. 3, it was a battle with the wind and making adjustments, but she was able to respond after being down 3-0 in the second set. She changed gears to close it out.”
In the longest match of the day — spanning nearly two hours — East’s No. 1 doubles duo of Maddy Rhodes and Emie Kiser grinded out a match with Kristina Griffin and Madison Pifer. The Owls (2-3) took the first set 6-2 before the Olympians stormed back to win the second 7-6 (13-11 in the tiebreaker). East would emerge victorious in a third set super-tiebreaker 10-7.
“The No. 1 doubles match was a nail-biter,” Malinsky said. “I think they were down 6-7 in that super-tiebreaker before rattling off four straight points. It was a really nice finish. They found their form in the right spots.”
Malinsky said he was proud of how multiple positions fought through some tough situations.
Seymour’s lone victory came at No. 2 doubles, with Mallory Moore and Avery Ragon topping Jenna Shoaf and Ayano Nomura 6-3, 6-0.
