Columbus North’s Kathryn Wilson is recognized after her Jasper Semistate match on Saturday for moving on to the Singles State Finals.
Corey Stolzenbach | For The Republic
JASPER — Saturday’s Jasper Semistate girls tennis match went as just about as expected.
No. 12-ranked Columbus North came through with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but No. 3 Jasper took the other three spots to claim a 3-2 victory and advance to the state finals.
The Bull Dogs will have one player moving on to the individual Singles State Finals, however, for the second consecutive year. Junior Kathryn Wilson improved to 27-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 win against Harper Wigand at No. 1 singles.
“I’m very proud of Kathryn,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “Obviously, she’s put a lot of work and time into it. She hasn’t been pressed a lot this year, but against the good players, she’s really played well. She has to be one of the top players. It’s just a matter of keeping focused and being ready to go.”
Columbus North’s Aya Saad walks back to serve during her No. 2 singles match in Saturday’s Jasper Semistate.
Corey Stolzenbach | For The Republic
The Bull Dogs also got a win at No. 2 singles, where Aya Saad beat Reese Mundy 7-6 (3), 6-3.
“Kathryn played very well today,” Hammel said. “Aya was pushed a little bit, especially in the first set with the tiebreaker. “We knew we could get the first two and maybe get one of the other spots, but it didn’t happen.”
By the time Wilson and Saad won their matches, Jasper had picked up quick victories at both doubles positions. North’s Grace Conner and Lucy Bergman fell to Allie Schnarr and Brailyn Whaley 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, and Siri Poludasu and Nino Akhalaya lost to Paige Giesler and Brynne Brosmer 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
“(Jasper is) a legit state No. 1 doubles team,” Hammel said. “No. 2 doubles, we were in the games and in the points and just didn’t execute like we needed to.”
North’s best hope at an upset was at No. 3 singles, but Annabelle Sun fell to Ally Wigand 6-2, 6-1.
“The (Ally Wigand) girl was just tough,” Hammel said. “We tried things we had to do to try to beat her, but she just came up with the big points when they needed them. Annabelle played really well.”
The Bull Dogs finish the season 19-5. They won their seventh consecutive regional title. Poludasu is the only senior from their varsity lineup who is graduating.
“We had a great year,” Hammel said. “We have a lot of girls coming back next year. You always hate to lose, but you can’t be disappointed in what we did.”
