BLOOMINGTON — Fifth-ranked Columbus North girls tennis had little trouble putting away Seymour 5-0 Wednesday night to claim the regional at Bloomington South.
The Bull Dogs will take on fourth-ranked Evansville Memorial in the Jasper Semistate at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“Overall, I was very pleased with how we played today,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “We had a close 4-1 match with them earlier in the season, with two of the matches going three sets. We won one and lost one.”
At No.1 singles, Ashlie Wilson downed Brooke Schafstall 6-0, 6-0. At No. 2 singles, Kathryn Wilson topped Sandy Cerino 6-0, 6-0.
“I thought Ashlie played really well today. She was focused with her shot selection. She took care of business very, and I was pleased with her,” Hammel said. “Kathryn did her normal thing. She hasn’t lost this year. She knows what to do and how to do things. Those two took care of business like we expected them to do.”
At No. 3 singles, Arya Gotoh defeated Kirby Hill 6-4, 6-0. At No. 1 doubles, Jaline Tay and Tiffany Fu won against Mallory Moore and Avery Ragon 6-1, 6-3. At No. 2 doubles, Leah George and Sydney Cooper defeated Madalyn Baurle and Elise Hartung 6-4, 6-4.
“Arya stepped up and did very nice today. Her shots were good and played well,” Hammel said. “One doubles, same thing — they pretty much did exactly like they did last time. I thought they played well, too. Two doubles was the biggest spot for us. We lost that one in three sets last time, and that team hasn’t lost all year. For them to pull that out, I hope that’s a big boost for them going into semistate.”
Now the attention turns to Evansville Memorial in a rematch of the 2019 semistate match, when North prevailed 3-2.
“Evansville Memorial will be a tough match. We’re both ranked right there side by side all year long. They’re a mirror to us. They’ve got very strong 1 and 2 singles players, and they have a good, solid 1 doubles team. Their 3 singles and 2 doubles are not quite as strong,” Hammel said.
“So, we’re going to have to take care of business, hopefully at the 3 singles and 2 doubles, we’ll see what happens,” he added. “From there, one of those other spots, we’ll see if we can pull something off, but I was pleased with how we played today and looking forward going into that match against Evansville Memorial.”
