BLOOMINGTON — The anticipation for the Columbus North-Scottsburg girls tennis match in the Bloomington North Regional continued to build after it was pushed back a day because of rain and started more than a half-hour late on Wednesday.
The 14th-ranked Bull Dogs had extra time to kill after the Scottsburg bus arrived to the match a little late. None of that affected them, and they cruised to a 5-0 win to advance to today’s regional final at 5:30 p.m. against Bloomington North.
Columbus North used Tuesday’s cancelation to in get two more hours of practice of time.
“We got an extra day to prepare, which helps a lot,” senior No. 1 doubles player Madelyn Sanders said. “We got to work on the shots we knew that we had trouble with in the past, and I think we definitely put it into use.”
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Sanders and partner Eva Chevalier earned the first point for the Bull Dogs (14-5) by beating Leah Hunefeld and Eliza Mount 6-1, 6-0. Yijiang Zhao followed suit by sweeping Megan Johnson 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, followed by Jaline Tay’s 6-0, 6-0 sweep of Hannah Brown at No. 3 singles.
Ali Bergman and Servane Cloteaux defeated Kinley Harmon and Lindsey Pfaffenbach 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles. Shweta Srinivasan closed the match with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Lyla Waskom at No. 2 singles.
“I really thought we as a total team came out and played really well,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “That was something we talked about in practices the last couple of days, is the intensity and not taking anything for granted. Every match counts, there’s always another step moving on.”
That next step for the Bull Dogs is the Cougars, whom they beat 3-2 earlier in the season without they’re full lineup.
“I know their coach. They will come in ready to play, match-wise,” Hammel said. “We’re at full strength this time versus where we were earlier in the season when we played them. We should do OK if we play like we did today.”
East doubles team wins
Columbus East’s No. 1 doubles team advanced in the individual doubles tournament with a win against Jennings County on Tuesday at Bloomington South.
Megna Chari and Kathryn Hodzen beat Maddy Hill and Callie Wilder 6-1, 6-0.
