Hank Lin
JASPER — Fourth-ranked Columbus North knew it would be a heavy favorite going into Saturday’s Jasper Semistate against unranked Evansville Memorial, and the Bull Dogs lived up to that billing.
North used four straight-set wins to capture a 4-1 victory against the Tigers and make a return trip to the state tournament.
“Overall, the match went pretty much like we thought it would,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “Going into this match, we felt fairly comfortable for the most part, as far as matchups. We felt we definitely had the advantage at some spots, and it showed.”
Parth Shah
Parth Gupta
Parth Gupta and Parth Shah were first off the court with a 6-1, 6-0 win against Shaurya Jadhav and Owen Zausch at No. 2 doubles. Hank Lin beat Patrick Pickering, also 6-1, 6-0, at No. 1 singles to give the Bull Dogs (24-2) a quick 2-0 lead.
North’s Anvay Atram and Amrit Kar topped Luke Woodyard and Luke Dewess 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles to clinch the match. Austin Clark fell to Vincent Dewees 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, but the Bull Dogs closed out the match with Steven Sun defeating Blake Anderson 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
“One doubles, it was a little rough there at the beginning, but they got going,” Hammel said. “One singles and 2 doubles went about the way we thought they would. Three singles, we played well. Two singles, we knew was going to be the toughest spot.”
North advances to play No. 1 West Lafayette Harrison in the state quarterfinals at noon Friday at Carmel. The semifinals and final are Saturday at North Central.
“I feel very confident with how this team has been responding very well for the whole season,” Hammel said. “We know we’re going to come up against a very good team.”
