The outcome of Thursday’s Brownstown Central-Corydon tennis match came down to the doubles teams and when the final point was recorded, the Braves had their first Mid-Southern Conference win of the season at 3-2.
The Braves took an early 1-0 lead when Emily Mann scored a 6-2, 6-1 win over Emma Boone at No. 2 singles.
Minutes later Jenna Bolte defeated Alyssa Harmon 7-5, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
After Brownstown’s Ava McKinney lost 6-1, 6-2 to McKenzie Hess at No. 1 singles, that left it up to the doubles teams.
Braves’ Hannah Hackman and Chelsea Luedeman won 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Kim Wolfe and Breanna Edwards at No 1 doubles to seal the win for the Braves.
Brownstown’s Lydia Luedeman and Lexie Satterthaite lost 3-6, 7-5, 4-6 to Lydia Neill and Shalyn Mattingly at No. 2 doubles.
Coach Erik Stangland recently changed the Braves’ lineup. “We needed a win like that,” he said. “That was wonderful to have a JV player and a doubles player step up and come up with a win. That was big.
“The singles players were keeping the ball in play. They just gutted it out, fought to make sure the ball stayed in. That was really impressive for them to be able to play like that.”
Mann is a junior and Bolte is a freshman.
“This was my first match at No. 2 singles. I played No. 3 singles our last match. Previously this season I played No. 1 doubles,” Mann said. “I like singles better than doubles because I feel like I have more control. I was doing really well hitting my forehand. I had a lot of top spin on the ball so that helped me win. (Boone) had trouble returning a few of them.
“Winning the first set made me really excited, and then I had more confidence for winning the second one. I’m going to try to stay at No. 2 singles. It will take more hard work at practice.”
Hackman and Chelsea Luedeman were behind 4-3 in their third set when they cut down their errors.
“They just started making better choices, better shots,” Stangland said. “They actually started making good shots at the net.”
Stangland said his team (1-5 MSC, 2-8 overall) is making the progress he has been looking for.
The Braves will play Scottsburg this evening in the Scott County Invitational at Scottsburg High School. North Harrison and Eastern will play at 5 p.m. and the Braves will play the Warriors in the second match.
The winners of those matches will play at 9 a.m. Saturday at the high school, and the losers will play at 9 a.m. at the middle school.