LINDEN — Southmont girls tennis won their third straight match on Thursday and third straight Sagamore Conference match as the Mounties defeated county rival North Montgomery 4-1 to earn them some county chase points in the process.
South quickly got up 2-0 on their county rivals with wins at one and two singles from Hanna Long and Marley Jones. Long defeated the Chargers Paige Hudson 6-0, 6-0 while Jones took care of Sydney Neideffer 6-1, 6-1 at two singles.
The other two wins came from the Mounties doubles teams as at one doubles Courtlyn Carpenter and Olivia Surface defeated Shayna Ratcliff and Reagan Little 6-4, 6-6(7-4). At two double the duo of Haylee Hall and Jozee Jones earned a 7-5, 6-2 win over the Chargers Sarika Gobwhala and Avery Gayler.
North’s lone win was a very impressive performance from Abigail Allen at three singles. Allen defeated the Mounties Kela Johnson in three sets 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Allen handed Johnson her first loss of the season at three singles.
“We’re really excited that our top two juniors were able to step up and play how we know they can,” Southmont coach Rob Reimondo said of Long and Jones. “They had tremendous outings and anytime you can grab a conference win and more importantly a county win is something to be celebrated.”
Chargers coach Lori first and foremost was overjoyed with how Allen played at three singles. She knew that Allen had it in her and now to see out on the court was something that Guard noted off the top.
“It was just a great win for her,” Guard said. “She played a great first set winning 6-2 and moved the ball around the court and stayed in every point to make her opponent very uncomfortable. That put a lot of pressure on Kela and led to many unforced errors and service errors. It was a very good match that was fun and intense to watch. Our team really helped cheer her on at the end for the win,”
Reimondo, as the season is reaching it’s conclusion with the sectional being next week, has noticed that his girls have been able to step of their level of play. The Mounties are beginning to save their best tennis for when it matters most.
“We’ve improved tremendously over the course of the year,” Reimondo said. “We’ve got a couple of tests left. We have Lebanon to round out the season and then the sectional next week. We’re excited though about where we’re at and I’m proud of the girls for the way they continue to compete.”
Hoping the weather stays away, the Mounties will host Lebanon on Friday to conclude the regular season. North Montgomery will now wait until Monday evening to know it’s sectional opponent. The sectional will be hosted by Crawfordsville and will include five total teams. Along with three county schools, both Parke Heritage and Clinton Prairie will all vie for a sectional title.
