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There's plenty of back-and-forth between Bloomington North's top two singles players.
So much so, a challenge match between them might run two hours, head coach Barb Mills said.
Sophomores Casey O'Connell and Sarah Kaviani were thrown into the varsity fire last year and coming back, are setting the tone for an improved squad that stands as the favorite heading into this week's sectional at Bloomington South.
More: No matter where she plays, Ella Sproul has been a hit for Edgewood softball
With their consistency, perseverance and discipline on match day and similar level of play, they make it tough on opponents, and each other.
"I think everybody else watches them, 'Wow, these girls hit 50 balls in a row,'" Mills said. "They don't give up. They just get the ball back one more time. You've got to be able to grind it out and not beat yourself."
They've gained confidence and a better skill set that allows them to do more than just return balls like a backboard.
"They've done really well, great improvement from last year," Mills said. "Some people who kicked Casey last year, she's been competitive with this year, closing in on them. She's made a great change.
"Sarah, she had to revamp her strokes a little bit, do something different. But she's very coachable and had done a good job of that, trying to add something more to her game."
Both have similar pasts with tennis, starting when they were young, then picking it back up in middle school, preparing to make the transition to high school. A rebuilding program needed them to step up last year.
"I kind of knew what I was getting into," O'Connell said. "So I started getting prepared for the spot that I played last year."
"It was a surprise for me," Kaviani said. "I didn't know I was going to be playing varsity but definitely it made me fall in love with the sport more and the competitive side of it."
They're competitors in practice, keeping each other sharp, while remaining good friends on and off the court.
"I don't think either of us would be playing to level that we're at if we hadn't been practicing together," O'Connell said. "I think we're really competitive. I don't think either of us is willing to give anything away, and I think that's also good practice for not giving up in match."
"We definitely pick up each other's game," Kaviani said. "We kind of push each other to try new things that usually that we wouldn't do in a match."
They started with being steady players, able to win a lot of points by simply holding out until their opponents make a mistake. Consistency is still a key for them, but now, they're learning to forcing the issue a bit more this year and add change-of-pace strokes to their games.
"I think I'm trying to get more comfortable coming to the net a lot," O'Connell said. "And also mentally, staying in the game, even when I'm playing a really long match in the second or third set."
The improvements O'Connell makes force Kaviani to get better to keep up.
"I feel more comfortable to attack some times," she said. "I feel confident in longer points because I'm used to playing them with Casey.
"I definitely feel like I have more of a game this year. Last year, I was mostly just defense, so I'm really focusing on knowing when to play defense and when to sometimes play offense. So finding that balance."
Play is set to begin Tuesday, May 19 with the host Panthers taking on Edgewood in a rematch from last week that South won, 5-0. The Mustangs had won three straight before that.
The winner will advance to the Wednesday semifinals vs. Brown County while Bloomington North takes on Owen Valley. The title match will be Thursday. All matches will start at 5:30 p.m., the same time as the sectional track meets right next door on Tuesday and Thursday.
South is the two-time defending champs, but North won the regular season match 4-1.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Top singles willing to play long game for Bloomington North girls tennis
Continue reading...
So much so, a challenge match between them might run two hours, head coach Barb Mills said.
Sophomores Casey O'Connell and Sarah Kaviani were thrown into the varsity fire last year and coming back, are setting the tone for an improved squad that stands as the favorite heading into this week's sectional at Bloomington South.
More: No matter where she plays, Ella Sproul has been a hit for Edgewood softball
With their consistency, perseverance and discipline on match day and similar level of play, they make it tough on opponents, and each other.
"I think everybody else watches them, 'Wow, these girls hit 50 balls in a row,'" Mills said. "They don't give up. They just get the ball back one more time. You've got to be able to grind it out and not beat yourself."
They've gained confidence and a better skill set that allows them to do more than just return balls like a backboard.
"They've done really well, great improvement from last year," Mills said. "Some people who kicked Casey last year, she's been competitive with this year, closing in on them. She's made a great change.
"Sarah, she had to revamp her strokes a little bit, do something different. But she's very coachable and had done a good job of that, trying to add something more to her game."
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'We push each other'
Both have similar pasts with tennis, starting when they were young, then picking it back up in middle school, preparing to make the transition to high school. A rebuilding program needed them to step up last year.
"I kind of knew what I was getting into," O'Connell said. "So I started getting prepared for the spot that I played last year."
"It was a surprise for me," Kaviani said. "I didn't know I was going to be playing varsity but definitely it made me fall in love with the sport more and the competitive side of it."
They're competitors in practice, keeping each other sharp, while remaining good friends on and off the court.
You must be registered for see images attach
"I don't think either of us would be playing to level that we're at if we hadn't been practicing together," O'Connell said. "I think we're really competitive. I don't think either of us is willing to give anything away, and I think that's also good practice for not giving up in match."
"We definitely pick up each other's game," Kaviani said. "We kind of push each other to try new things that usually that we wouldn't do in a match."
They started with being steady players, able to win a lot of points by simply holding out until their opponents make a mistake. Consistency is still a key for them, but now, they're learning to forcing the issue a bit more this year and add change-of-pace strokes to their games.
"I think I'm trying to get more comfortable coming to the net a lot," O'Connell said. "And also mentally, staying in the game, even when I'm playing a really long match in the second or third set."
The improvements O'Connell makes force Kaviani to get better to keep up.
"I feel more comfortable to attack some times," she said. "I feel confident in longer points because I'm used to playing them with Casey.
"I definitely feel like I have more of a game this year. Last year, I was mostly just defense, so I'm really focusing on knowing when to play defense and when to sometimes play offense. So finding that balance."
You must be registered for see images attach
Bloomington South Sectional draw
Play is set to begin Tuesday, May 19 with the host Panthers taking on Edgewood in a rematch from last week that South won, 5-0. The Mustangs had won three straight before that.
The winner will advance to the Wednesday semifinals vs. Brown County while Bloomington North takes on Owen Valley. The title match will be Thursday. All matches will start at 5:30 p.m., the same time as the sectional track meets right next door on Tuesday and Thursday.
South is the two-time defending champs, but North won the regular season match 4-1.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Top singles willing to play long game for Bloomington North girls tennis
Continue reading...
