- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,151,358
- Reaction score
- 59
Head coach Matt Corry pulled the right levers, and the light came on for his Bloomington South girls tennis team.
The Panthers had to find a way to reverse a 4-1 regular season loss to Bloomington North when they met again Thursday, May 21 in the finals of the South Sectional. The Cougars' starting seven remained intact for the rematch, but it was a different group of Panthers that took them on.
The result was a double sweep that swung the tide in a 3-2 win that sends South on to the Brownsburg Regional on Tuesday, May 26 to face Greencastle.
More: Catcher getting up to speed this year for Bloomington South softball
"The goal is to win three points," Corry said, "Put a fair lineup in. How do we get three points? I'm a big proponent of getting players ready to play single or doubles and at the end of the day, we have to get through sectionals.
"We have to figure out what we have and other teams have and what gives us the best shot."
The best shot was having a four-year varsity player in Hannah Vandeventer move from 3 singles to 2 doubles and work out a new pairing with sophomore Addy Prall. Nia Johnson and Stella Hamm picked up the empty singles spot. The few weeks they had between the loss to North and sectional gave them a chance to tinker.
"I'm fortunate to have Hannah, who has played singles and doubles," Corry said. "When we played North, I was not happy with how we competed, how we did. I was not happy with the controllables from top to bottom.
"Our challenge was how to learn from it, put the team first and respond as a team and see how we complement each other in a way that gives us the best chance."
That started with meshing Vandeventer and Prall, a top reserve with the girls' basketball team last season.
"Hannah trusted my decision as well as other girls," Corry said. "With Addy, their partnership is growing so quickly. With her sight of court ability and she keeps things simple. She's taking her basketball skills and applying them to tennis.
"They complement each other well. Addy is competitive and Hannah has the experience with varsity. She hits the ball hard and can attack."
That pair had to turn 0-3 deficits into 6-4, 6-4 wins in each set, but they did their job.
Carla Demeter took care of Casey O'Connell 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 1 singles spot with the Cougars' Sarah Kaviani topping Grace Dykstra 6-3, 6-0 and Kate Lehr beating Hamm 6-0, 6-3. It was tied at 2.
"Carla, I'm happy with how she did the first time against (O'Connell) and she's improved," Corry said. "Grace has been exceptional with her work ethic. She's had some great wins. She's put in the time. I know she's disappointed with the outcome, but she put her heart out there.
"With Stella, we knew that was a tough challenge with Lehr and she battled."
That forced 1 doubles to seize the moment, and this time, they did as Mira Koduri and Clara Tweedie reversed a loss to Lilia McHaley and Oakley Yoder in a big way.
They had fallen just short in the second set of a 6-1, 7-6 defeat the first time as Yoder was too tough at the net. Koduri and Tweedie had to rally again, but this time, they finished it off, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 for the clinching point.
"The flow of the match started fast for North," Corry said. "It was not looking great. They won the first set at 1 doubles, got up early at 2 doubles and won the first sets at 2 and 3 singles."
Then it came down to one match. Koduri was so engrossed in the match and not worried at all about the score that she tried to serve in the ad court up 30-0 while up 5-0 in the third set. Corry kept asking her what the score was before she realized what was happening.
Koduri admitted to Corry afterward she kind of "blacked out."
"They locked in and trusted themselves when the pressure was on," Corry said. "Those are the things we were talking about and being willing to take risks.
"They had a lot of opportunities to lean on bad history and insecurities, so I hope this was a big 'Aha' moment for them. I'm glad they got to experience that with the whole program behind them."
South (9-9) now heads to Brownsburg looking to flip another result against Greencastle. The Tiger Cubs beat the Panthers 4-1 in last year's semifinals. The other semi pits No. 29 Plainfield, which tripped up No. 21 Brownsburg in its sectional, and Terre Haute North.
The title match is Wednesday, May 27. All matches start at 5:30 p.m.
The sectional results leave Demeter and Koduri and Tweedie, respectively, alive in the singles and doubles tournaments as well.
More: Powerhouse Bloomington South girls track team bolts to IHSAA sectional title
In the semifinals, North took care of Owen Valley 5-0 while dropping just two games while South beat Brown County 5-0.
Demeter won 6-0, 6-0; Dykstra 6-1, 6-0 and Johnson, in her first ever varsity singles match, 4-6, 6-4, (10-4). Koduri and Tweedie won 6-1, 6-1 and Vandeventer and Prall took the other doubles match 7-5, 4-1.
In the first round, the Panthers beat Edgewood 5-0.
Demeter beat Marley Jackson 6-1, 6-1; Dykstra topped Ellie Jackson 6-0, 6-2 and Hamm outlasted Boston Chambers 5-7, 6-4 (10-7). At doubles, Koduri and Tweedie beat Cora Jones and Sophie Kapperman while Prall and Vandeventer beat Audrey Gudmundson and Meghan Wilson, 6-0, 6-2.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How Bloomington South girls tennis found a way to win a sectional title
Continue reading...
The Panthers had to find a way to reverse a 4-1 regular season loss to Bloomington North when they met again Thursday, May 21 in the finals of the South Sectional. The Cougars' starting seven remained intact for the rematch, but it was a different group of Panthers that took them on.
The result was a double sweep that swung the tide in a 3-2 win that sends South on to the Brownsburg Regional on Tuesday, May 26 to face Greencastle.
More: Catcher getting up to speed this year for Bloomington South softball
You must be registered for see images attach
"The goal is to win three points," Corry said, "Put a fair lineup in. How do we get three points? I'm a big proponent of getting players ready to play single or doubles and at the end of the day, we have to get through sectionals.
"We have to figure out what we have and other teams have and what gives us the best shot."
The best shot was having a four-year varsity player in Hannah Vandeventer move from 3 singles to 2 doubles and work out a new pairing with sophomore Addy Prall. Nia Johnson and Stella Hamm picked up the empty singles spot. The few weeks they had between the loss to North and sectional gave them a chance to tinker.
"I'm fortunate to have Hannah, who has played singles and doubles," Corry said. "When we played North, I was not happy with how we competed, how we did. I was not happy with the controllables from top to bottom.
"Our challenge was how to learn from it, put the team first and respond as a team and see how we complement each other in a way that gives us the best chance."
That started with meshing Vandeventer and Prall, a top reserve with the girls' basketball team last season.
"Hannah trusted my decision as well as other girls," Corry said. "With Addy, their partnership is growing so quickly. With her sight of court ability and she keeps things simple. She's taking her basketball skills and applying them to tennis.
"They complement each other well. Addy is competitive and Hannah has the experience with varsity. She hits the ball hard and can attack."
That pair had to turn 0-3 deficits into 6-4, 6-4 wins in each set, but they did their job.
Carla Demeter took care of Casey O'Connell 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 1 singles spot with the Cougars' Sarah Kaviani topping Grace Dykstra 6-3, 6-0 and Kate Lehr beating Hamm 6-0, 6-3. It was tied at 2.
"Carla, I'm happy with how she did the first time against (O'Connell) and she's improved," Corry said. "Grace has been exceptional with her work ethic. She's had some great wins. She's put in the time. I know she's disappointed with the outcome, but she put her heart out there.
"With Stella, we knew that was a tough challenge with Lehr and she battled."
You must be registered for see images attach
Down to No. 1 doubles
That forced 1 doubles to seize the moment, and this time, they did as Mira Koduri and Clara Tweedie reversed a loss to Lilia McHaley and Oakley Yoder in a big way.
They had fallen just short in the second set of a 6-1, 7-6 defeat the first time as Yoder was too tough at the net. Koduri and Tweedie had to rally again, but this time, they finished it off, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 for the clinching point.
"The flow of the match started fast for North," Corry said. "It was not looking great. They won the first set at 1 doubles, got up early at 2 doubles and won the first sets at 2 and 3 singles."
Then it came down to one match. Koduri was so engrossed in the match and not worried at all about the score that she tried to serve in the ad court up 30-0 while up 5-0 in the third set. Corry kept asking her what the score was before she realized what was happening.
Koduri admitted to Corry afterward she kind of "blacked out."
"They locked in and trusted themselves when the pressure was on," Corry said. "Those are the things we were talking about and being willing to take risks.
"They had a lot of opportunities to lean on bad history and insecurities, so I hope this was a big 'Aha' moment for them. I'm glad they got to experience that with the whole program behind them."
South (9-9) now heads to Brownsburg looking to flip another result against Greencastle. The Tiger Cubs beat the Panthers 4-1 in last year's semifinals. The other semi pits No. 29 Plainfield, which tripped up No. 21 Brownsburg in its sectional, and Terre Haute North.
The title match is Wednesday, May 27. All matches start at 5:30 p.m.
The sectional results leave Demeter and Koduri and Tweedie, respectively, alive in the singles and doubles tournaments as well.
More: Powerhouse Bloomington South girls track team bolts to IHSAA sectional title
North, South roll in semis
In the semifinals, North took care of Owen Valley 5-0 while dropping just two games while South beat Brown County 5-0.
Demeter won 6-0, 6-0; Dykstra 6-1, 6-0 and Johnson, in her first ever varsity singles match, 4-6, 6-4, (10-4). Koduri and Tweedie won 6-1, 6-1 and Vandeventer and Prall took the other doubles match 7-5, 4-1.
In the first round, the Panthers beat Edgewood 5-0.
Demeter beat Marley Jackson 6-1, 6-1; Dykstra topped Ellie Jackson 6-0, 6-2 and Hamm outlasted Boston Chambers 5-7, 6-4 (10-7). At doubles, Koduri and Tweedie beat Cora Jones and Sophie Kapperman while Prall and Vandeventer beat Audrey Gudmundson and Meghan Wilson, 6-0, 6-2.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How Bloomington South girls tennis found a way to win a sectional title
Continue reading...
