NEW MARKET — Not only was it a county matchup on Wednesday when Southmont girls tennis hosted North Montgomery, but it was also senior night for the Mounties. At the end of the evening Southmont would come away with a 4-1 win to send their seniors off with a win in their final home match.
At one singles for the Mounties Hanna Long defeated Carlie DeSmet 6-0, 6-2. Senior Bailey Barker was victorious in her final home match at two singles with a 6-0. 6-0 win over Paige Hudson. Rounding out the singles spots, Marley Jones brought home a 6-1, 6-2 win over Abigail Allen.
The lone win for the Chargers came at one doubles as the duo of Sydnee Turner and Allison Guard defeated Dori Frederick and Courtlyn Carpenter 6-4, 6-1.
The match of the night between the Mounties and Chargers was at two doubles as Courtney Engels and Shayna Ratcliff took set 6-4 over Kela Johnson and Chaney Scott. Engels and Ratcliff were up 5-2 and looking as if they would come away with a win before Johnson and Scott rallied all the way back for a 7-5 set two victory to force a winner take all third and final set. The Mountie duo turned it up another gear when they needed it most and dominated set three 6-0 to come away with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 win.
“That was a special victory,” Southmont coach Rob Reimondo said of Johnson and Scott’s comeback win. “You have to give the North girls credit tonight. They were all out to play hard with it being a county match. We were pleased with how the whole team played, but two doubles really gelled in that third set to come out on top.”
Charger coach Lori Guard despite the loss has still seen the positives for her team. On Wednesday North Montgomery dropped a close 3-2 match to Pike then followed that performance up with another solid showing against a county rival. It’s the overall progress of the team that has Guard liking what she’s seeing from her Chargers.
“The good thing is that while we’re making progress, we’re also getting some of our freshman some playing time,” she said. “Future-wise I really do see us having some good singles players next year. The biggest learning lesson that I’ve learned is that we really do need to focus on our singles. It was also good to see Sydnee and Allison get the win tonight. They kind of got off to a slow start, but have really found their rhythm and have been able to pick up some wins as of late.”
With the sectional getting underway next Wednesday at Crawfordsville, the two teams also used this county and conference matchup as a potential sectional preview. Along with the Chargers and Mounties, host Crawfordsville and Parke Heritage will make up the four teams vying for a sectional crown.
“We’re going to take all challengers seriously come next week,” Reimondo said of the upcoming sectional. “North has some competitive players and we were just happy to secure a win tonight. Hopefully we’re starting to peak at the right time with all of our players. That’s always the goal for us as coaches.”
Southmont will conclude their regular season on Friday as they wrap up Sagamore Conference play with a visit to Lebanon. North Montgomery will also conclude the regular season on Friday as they welcome Harrison.
