The Seymour girls tennis team started the season on a positive note as they defeated the Jeffersonville Red Devils 4-1 on Tuesday evening at home.
Seymour coach Jennifer Miller said she was impressed with the way the team started the season.
“For the first match of the year, the girls came out ready to play and I think to open with a conference opponent, it’s really nice to get a win under our belt,” she said. “Jeffersonville has always been a strong opponent for us and they’ve been rebuilding the last two years and we knew they would be tough to open with and I think we did well.”
Emma Wood started at No. 1 singles for the Owls and defeated Jeffersonville’s Libby West, 6-1, 6-1.
Hallie Crenshaw, at No. 2 singles, defeated Katie Gernand 6-1, 6-1.
Miller said both Wood and Crenshaw used consistency and skill to get a positive result.
“Hallie and Emma did really well tonight,” she said. “They were really consistent and played really smart for us.”
Megan Baurle, rounded-out the singles by starting in the three slot.
She dropped the first set 3-6, but worked her way back to defeat Jeffersonville’s Haley Asplund 6-0, 6-2 in the second and third sets to give the Owls the 4-1 victory.
Miller said that mental toughness will help Baurle later on with confidence.
“I think mentally that gives her some confidence going into the next match,” she said.
Lindsey Hume and Addie Rudge started at one doubles for the Owls and defeated Gabby Elder and McKenna Woodard 6-2, 6-3.
Miller said that was a challenge for the team because of Edler and Woodward are a strong pair.
“Jeffersonville’s one doubles is a strong duo,” she said. “The girls just played aggressively with it and were successful.”
At number two doubles Kelli Armes and Katie O’Mara dropped their match 5-7, 3-6 to Jeffersonville’s Cameron Kearney and Ally Ward.
Miller said the team did well considering the weather. At the start of the match, the temperature was in the low 50’s with a cold breeze. The temperature then dipped into the high 40’s as the match progressed. Miller said the team has practiced in colder temperatures the last week or so and have made the necessary adjustments.
“We’ve dealt with cold temperatures and strong winds the last ten days so that helped us knowing that we might face these conditions again,” she said, adding the weather was more favorable than during some of the team’s practices. “The wind was actually better tonight that it has been, but this something we have to player through.”
Miller said the team will have its challenges ahead when it meets Columbus North on Thursday and Bloomington North on Saturday.
“We really have to work on getting consistency and working on confidence to get us to the middle of the season,” she said. “We’re really looking to gauge where our girls are with those two matches coming up.”