GHS tennis defeats South in sectional

Saturday, May 19, 2007
As teammate Kayla Birt looks on, Greencastle's Savannah Provine hits a return against South Putnam's Samantha Callahan and Chelsea Clark. Birt and Provine won 6-0, 6-2. The Tiger Cubs advanced to face Northview in today's final.

BRAZIL -- The Greencastle girls' tennis team advanced to the sectional final with its win over county rival South Putnam 3-2 at Northview Friday night.';

"I'm thrilled," GHS coach Trish Lowe said. "I knew it would be close."

The win didn't come easy as Greencastle saw the match come down to the final two matches with South holding strong.

The No 1 singles and No. 1 doubles team for Greencastle didn't disappoint as they dispatched their opponents in quick fashion.

No. 1 singles player Kelsey Hennette defeated South's Shelley Douglass in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 to start off the Tiger Cubs night.

The No. 1 doubles team of Kayla Birt and Savannah Provine tore through the Eagles Doubles team Chelsea Clark and Samantha Callahan 6-0, 6-2. Provine dominated the net as she powered returns that kissed the lines.

The Eagles turned up the heat on the Tiger Cubs as they took the No. 2 doubles match as Megan Criss and Cassie Davis defeated Emma Kaiser and Kristen Flint 6-2, 6-1. The Eagles were also giving the two remaining singles matches everything they had.

The Tiger Cubs' Carol LaFoe turned in a brilliant performance in the first set, winning 6-3. LaFoe display the ability to cover the court and pull the ball cross court, but South's Elizabeth Mink took the first set loss and put it behind her.

Mink came out and reclaimed the momentum, as she won the second set 6-0 and set herself up to make a run in the third set. LaFoe fought tough but Mink came out on top with a 6-2 win.

"Carol did a tremendous job. She played so well in the first set," Lowe noted.

The biggest battle of the night belonged to Greencastle's Rena Warren and the Eagles' Whitney Warren.

Looking at the individual records heading into the match, nobody would have expected Rena Warren to show up like she did -- nobody that is except Rena Warren. Rena looked poised the entire contest and took advantage whenever Whitney hit an errant shot. Rena outlasted Whitney, winning the match 6-4, 6-2 to push the Tiger Cubs into the sectional final.

"I was so proud of Rena. She did such a great job of staying in the game, staying focused and just keeping the ball in play, letting the other girl make mistakes," Lowe commented.

"I'm just so proud of them," Lowe said. "I expected Kelsey and No. 1 doubles to do their job and they did."

With the season coming to an end, South Putnam coach Johnnie Briones was short on words.

"We had a good year. I'm really proud of them," Briones said.

Briones pointed out he felt his team had some sectional jitters but eventually found their game.

"Once they settled down some, things got better -- but it was a little too late," he said.

Greencastle will face Northview for the sectional title tomorrow and Lowe feels her team has a great shot.

"We're alive to play tomorrow and if we get some major competitiveness out of some kids, we could pull it out," she said.

The championship match between GHS and Northview will begin at 10 a.m. today at Northview.

At Northview

Greencastle 3, South Putnam 2

Singles -- Hennette (GHS) def. Douglass (SP) 6-0, 6-0; Warren (GHS) def. Warren (SP) 6-4, 6-2; Mink (SP) def. LaFoe (GHS) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Doubles -- Birt/Provine (GHS) def. Clark/Callahan (SP) 6-0, 6-2; Criss/Davis (SP) def. Kaiser/Flint (GHS) 6-2, 6-1.

Next game -- The championship match between GHS and Northview will begin at 10 a.m. today at Northview.

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