Columbus North doubles players Grace Conner, left, and Lizzie Bodart high-five after scoring a point in an IHSAA Regional tennis match against Jennings County at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
It didn’t take long for the Columbus North girls tennis team to capture the regional tennis title Wednesday at North.
The 18th-ranked Bull Dogs controlled the match right from the start and swept Jennings County 5-0.
North (16-6) moves on to play in the Center Grove Semistate against the host and No. 17-ranked Trojans, who defeated Triton Central in another regional final, at noon Saturday.
“Going in, we didn’t take this team for granted or lightly either. They had a good year, they had some nice players. They beat Lawrenceburg 4-1 (in the regional semifinals). We were 3-2 against them in that situation,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “I thought we came out and right off the bat, I didn’t see us get down on ourselves. We played very aggressively and jumped right to it. We came out mentally ready and hopefully focus and move on and be ready for the next round.”
For the Bull Dog seniors, it was their fourth regional title in their four years with the program.
“It feels really good, especially on our home court. It felt really good just to finish it one last time,” North senior Lizzie Bodart said.
North’s Aya Saad topped Kaydence Lowman 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, Lucy Bergman defeated Mia Silvey 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 singles and Ayane Umemura beat Grace McBride 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
Annabelle Sun and Nino Akhalaya won against Sophia Lucas and Gabi Morin 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. Bodart and Grace Conner prevailed over Karmindy Lowman and Maddy McIntosh 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 doubles.
The Panthers finished their season 13-3.
