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Eagles pick up win on hard courts against Turkey Run
The South Putnam girls' tennis team improved its season record to .500 on Wednesday after beating Turkey Run 3-2.
The Eagles got quick wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, then battled for a three-set victory at No. 2 doubles. The match victory came one day after being shutout by Greencastle to open the season.
"They were settled down, they were ready to play and they were just hungry for a win," SPHS coach John Briones said. "They hit the ball better and they were a little more aggressive than the other night."
Junior Kelly Hayden, at No. 2 singles, defeated Turkey Run senior Hannah Delp 6-1, 6-2 and senior Cierra Brown made quick work of sophomore Hannah Stompf at No. 3 singles, winning 6-1, 6-1.
No. 1 singles player Madison Cash, a senior who returned to the lineup after missing the Greencastle match, lost to TRHS senior Hannah Smith 6-2, 6-3.
"(Cash) really didn't have much time on the court until this match," Briones said. "A little more court time would have helped her out a lot. Her opponent had just a monster first serve, but I think Madison adjusted well to it. She just needed to have a little more practice time."
With the singles matches complete, SPHS had a 2-1 lead in the match score, but the Warriors tied it when the No. 1 doubles team of senior Linda McFarland and junior Courtney Hardman beat SPHS senior Kassi Rains and junior Megan Guthrie, 7-5, 6-2.
That left the deciding match to No. 2 doubles, which split the first two sets.
Juniors Kyndra Boyce and Miriah Cherry won the first set for South Putnam, then became tentative in the second set and allowed senior Becky Cox and sophomore Bri Hutton to get back into the match.
"That was really nerve-wrecking, but I was really proud of them," Briones said. "They didn't realize that we needed that win until the third set and the nerves started showing, but they played through it and got the win for us. I'm really proud of Miriah and Kyndra for that."
The Eagles duo put things together in the third set and finished the match with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win the squad's first team victory of the season.
"I'd like to see them get a little more aggressive," Briones said. "Another thing was just being in good position to hit the ball. A lot of times we get caught standing. After we hit it we just watch and see where it's going instead of preparing for that next shot, and it gets us in trouble.
"But if we get in a good position to get a good hit on the ball, we're going to be more consistent."
SPHS plays at West Vigo on Monday at 5 p.m.