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Tiger Cubs lose to Knights in sectional final
BRAZIL -- The highly-successful season for the Greencastle girls' tennis team came to an end on Friday when the Tiger Cubs lost to sectional host Northview, 4-1.
While the final team score seems one-sided, it could have just as easily been GHS that advanced to next week's regionals.
Three of the five matches split sets and the Tiger Cubs had a third-set lead in two of them.
"This was a really good year," GHS coach Sally Martin said. "We didn't get together for two hours every day and travel to lose sectionals. It's tough to say this is our last match and we wanted to go back to our regionals, but it's OK."
Harriet Watson, one of five seniors playing for Greencastle against Northview, was the only Tiger Cubs player to win.
Watson beat Nicole Linton 6-3, 6-4.
"It's a nice change, especially for my senior year," Watson said. "It's like the opposite of last year. I had really bad injuries and I lost in the final round of sectionals."
For Watson, the match win was bittersweet.
She finished the postseason with a perfect 3-0 record, but the team failed to advance to regionals, which Greencastle hosts next week.
Kayla Chadd lost in the quickest match of the day to Kaysia Reberger. Chadd had beaten Reberger earlier in the year but she was unable to find a rhythm as she battled through nagging knee injuries.
Chadd's 6-3, 6-3 loss to Reberger ended her season with a still impressive 15-2 overall record.
The one- and two-doubles matches played out remarkably similarly. Both Greencastle teams were dominated in the first set, then battled back to win an even more dominant second set.
At one-doubles Bailey Brewer and junior Melody White fought back from a 4-1 third set deficit, but it was too much to overcome. The pair lost to Jessica Baker and Hannah Minor 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
At two-doubles Sabrina Arnold and freshman Corrie Romer took a 2-1 lead in the third set before eventually losing to Ramey Miller and Shelly Timberman 6-2, 0-6, 6-2.
No. 1 singles was the final match on court, which was fitting because although the team score was decide, Haylie Romer still had a chance to move to regionals as an individual had she gotten a win and become the last Tiger Cub still going.
Romer took the first set against Haley Leach, but lost a second-set tiebreaker and couldn't find any traction in the third. She was taken out 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
The season's disappointing end was especially hard for Martin, not because of the loss but because it meant she would no longer be able to coach that specific group of girls.
"I would take this team over any team that I've ever seen, played against or taught at any point," Martin said. " I love them. People use that word too much, saying they love this and they love that, but I don't. When I say it, I mean it.
"I don't normally say it, so these seniors, juniors sophomore and freshman made me love this team."
Of Greencastle's top three singles and top two double players, five -- Haylie Romer, Harriet Watson, Kayla Chadd, Bailey Brewer and Sabrina Arnold -- will be graduating next week.
The Tiger Cubs also had several senior leaders on their practice squad, setting a positive example for the younger girls each day.
"I got to teach things that I've never been able to open up and teach to other kids because they weren't ready for it,"" Martin said. "The seniors that we have taught the underclassmen and I don' think we'll have too much of a down year (next year)."
While their time as teammates has ended, Watson said this group of girls will always be one unit.
"I really love my teammates," Watson said. "I've become really close with the coach and especially all the seniors. ... We're all kind of like sisters, in a way."