Aya Saad
Kendal Hammel felt like his Columbus North girls tennis team let a match — and the Conference Indiana championship — get away from them when they fell to Terre Haute South Monday night.
The 18th-ranked Bull Dogs bounced back in a big way Wednesday. They opened the North Sectional with a 5-0 win against Hauser.
“It’s a new season,” Hammel said. “We had a rough ending with Terre Haute South the other night. We did not play that well. I was disappointed in that match. We let a match get away for sure, and we weren’t as competitive as we should have been in some situations.”
The Bull Dogs (12-6) got quick 6-0, 6-0 wins from Aya Saad against Ruby McKinney at No. 1 singles and Lucy Bergman over Isabella Price at No. 2 singles. They other three matches took a little longer.
North’s Ayane Umemura beat Kaydenze Brock 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. Annabelle Sun and Nino Akhalaya topped Abby Manley and Kaycee Ridgley 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.
The closest match came at No. 2 doubles, where the Bull Dogs’ Grace Conner and Lizzie Bodart defeated Maley Jordan and June Berkenstock 6-0, 6-2.
“I’m happy that we got some games,” Hauser coach Andrea Reed said. “That was the goal — to get as many games as we could. I felt like they played their best and put as much effort as they could into it.”
The Jets finish the season 4-13.
North will play Greensburg, and Columbus East will face Edinbugh in the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. The sectional final is at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
“I have a lot of seniors on this team,” Hammel said. “It’s just, how bad do they want it?’”
