Austin’s boys tennis team had an easy time advancing in the Seymour Sectional by defeating Trinity Lutheran 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Eagles (13-2) won all five points in straight sets with Gavin Parker scoring a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ryan Kleman at No. 1 singles, Brennan Hanner posting a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Cameron Gruenwald at No. 2 singles and Cameron Richey winning 6-1, 6-0 over Henry Hall at No. 3 singles.
Jakob Campbell and Josh Gabbard teamed up to beat Nathan Voelker and Solomon Hall 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles, and Bruce Parker and Nick Henderson topped Luke Pollert and James Thomack 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Austin defeated Trinity on Sept. 21, and Cougars coach Kable Walton knew his team would have a difficult time advancing.
“We played Austin before, and they’re a tough team,” he said. “They’ve got some good doubles players and some really solid singles players. I was surprised by the quality of their team. They are a good team. We’ll see how they stack up against Brownstown (today). I think it will be a pretty competitive match in most of those spots.”
Walton said the Cougars (2-12) needed to play at a higher level in order to advance.
“I think our guys can be competitive with these guys, but it’s all about keeping yourself at a really high, steady level,” he said. “You can get one or two games, but you’ve got to keep going and take that momentum.”
Pollert, Thomack and Tanner Bauserman are seniors on the Trinity team.
“We had eight players, and we’re going to lose three of the eight, so it’s a matter of recruitment,” Walton said, “and you never know if these kids are even going to come back next year, even the ones who aren’t seniors. We’re going to be fighting next year for numbers.”
At the same time Brownstown and Austin are battling, Seymour will face Scottsburg in another match today. Both matches will start at 4:45 p.m.
The Eagles (13-2) defeated the Braves 3-2 in Austin on Monday to earn a share of the Mid-Southern Conference title.
Seymour (7-12) defeated Scottsburg 3-2 on the Warriors’ courts Aug. 21.
The winners of today’s matches will play Friday in the championship match.