It will be a battle of undefeated teams when third-ranked Columbus North plays unranked Westview at noon Friday in the state boys tennis quarterfinals.
Bull Dogs coach Kendal Hammel is a little surprised to be playing Westview. The Warriors beat No. 29 Marion in the semistate after Marion upset No. 23 Delta in the regional.
“I’m not going to say we’re overconfident, but we got a good draw,” Hammel said. “They’re undefeated, but we don’t know a whole lot about them. I would definitely say that we are the favored team because we’re ranked third in the state, and they aren’t ranked at all.”
North’s probable semifinal match at 10 a.m. Saturday at North Central will be decidedly tougher. Carmel, which plays No. 11 Evansville Reitz in the quarterfinals, also is undefeated and ranked No. 1. The Greyhounds are the three-time defending state champion.
“We know that will be a big challenge,” Hammel said. “The guys on the team know the guys from Carmel from tournaments, and they speak pretty highly of them. They have guys playing at No. 2 doubles that played at the top of the singles positions last year, so they have some depth in there.”
The Bull Dogs are making their seventh state tournament appearance. They made the final four in 2007 and 2008 and were quarterfinalists last year.
“They’re pretty excited about getting to this point and their chances of getting into the final four and the battle we’ll have in that situation,” Hammel said.
Meanwhile, Hauser’s No. 1 doubles team of junior Caleb Hoover and freshman Levi Gollmer will play in the Bedford North Lawrence Doubles Regional on Saturday. The duo will face South Central seniors Austin Tyree and Zach Needler in the semifinals at 10 a.m. The winner will meet a team from Northeast Dubois or Castle at 2 p.m., with the regional champs advancing to next weekend’s Doubles State Finals.
East ready for regional
Columbus East will seek its first boys soccer regional title since 2005 on Saturday at Seymour.
The Class 3A No. 5 Olympians (15-0-3) will play Bloomington South (9-5-3) at around noon Saturday in the semifinals. Jasper (11-4-4) and Southport (14-4) will meet in the first semifinal at 10 a.m., and the winners will play for the regional title at 7 p.m.
East is the only ranked team among the four. The Olympians posted their first undefeated regular season in school history and won their third sectional title in the past five years.
“I think we’re very lucky that the players and I have some great assistant coaches,” East coach Brad Barber said. “Josh Gonsior, Nathan Cline, Javier Lara, Buster Copas, Ethan Graman and John Sandlin all specialize in something. Those coaches have been head coaches in the past, and because they specialize in so many areas, I feel very confident that our players are coming into the regional fully prepared.”
North to host CC regional
Columbus North’s third-ranked girls and ninth-ranked boys will be favorites to defend their regional cross-country titles on Saturday at Ceraland.
The No. 25 Jennings County boys are the only other ranked team in either race. The Panther girls also will be competing, along with boys and girls teams from Columbus East and Brown County and Hauser individual boys runner Ryan Ault.
The boys race will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the girls race at 11:15 a.m. The top five teams and top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the Oct. 26 Brown County Regional.
Teams open sectional play
Sectional volleyball action gets under way for Columbus North and Hauser tonight, while Columbus East will have to wait until Saturday.
The Bull Dogs will play Bloomington South at 6 p.m. today in the first round of the Class 4A Bloomington North Sectional. The Jets will face Waldron at 6 p.m. in the first round of the Class A Edinburgh Sectional.
If Hauser wins, it would play Southwestern (Shelby) at 11 a.m. Saturday, and if Columbus North wins, it would play Martinsville or Bedford North Lawrence at around 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Olympians will face host Bloomington North in the sectional semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday. All sectional finals are at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Police, firefighters to battle
Columbus North girls basketball player Tessa Lomax is putting on a “Battle of the Shields” basketball game between police and firefighters at 7 p.m. Saturday at North High School for her senior project.
For entry, fans are asked to bring toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo, peanut butter or a cash donation to benefit Love Chapel.
For more information, contact Lomax at tessalomax@ymail.com
Walk to help cancer patient
Columbus East football, basketball and track athlete Seth Chandler is raising money through Inheritance of Hope for Tony Pottorff, a teacher and cross-country coach who is battling breast cancer.
Chandler is hosting the Inheritance of Hope 5K Run/Walk at noon Oct. 26 at the East football field and track. Entry fee is $30 and includes a t-shirt.
Individuals can register and watch a video about Chandler and Pottorff at inheritanceofhope.org/walkitout
East golf hosting fundraiser
The 2019 Fall Chili-Dip Open fundraiser for the Columbus East boys and girls golf teams will be at 11 a.m. Nov. 2 at Otter Creek Golf Course.
Cost is $60 per person and includes greens fees, cart, chili and other goodies. Bonus package is $20 and includes three mulligans, a chance to win $300 cash and other raffle prizes. Proceeds go toward golf instruction for the winter months and to help purchase uniforms, golf bags and pay for expenses for the Olympian golf teams.
To sign up, contact Matt Steinwedel at 812-343-3003 or iusteiny@gmail.com.
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at tschultz@therepublic.com or 812-379-5628.
