Seymour boys tennis coach Brandon Davis says he encourages his players to come out strong and play well from the start of all matches.
Seymour’s No. 2 and 3 singles and both doubles teams swept their matches in straight sets to defeat Shelbyville 4-1 at home Tuesday afternoon.
“We always want to have a good start and sometimes if we can’t have a good start, we try to do our best to try to finish strong at least,” Davis said. “I encourage my guys to try and finish the point in four or five hits or less, and then be the first ones to the net.
“We may not be the hardest-hitting team, but I want us to be aggressive, be consistent and I want us to get some good shots underneath the net for sure.”
Seymour’s Andrew Levine topped Caden Tackett 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and Joe Schmidt was a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Ian Backetter at three singles.
Schmidt said he played No. 2 doubles in the Owls’ first match of the season, but has been at No. 3 singles since and has a record of 2-2 there.
“I think I like singles better,” he said. “I just like having control. My forehand is probably one of my strengths. My backhand is not quite as good, but it’s OK.
“I plan to work on my serving, getting my first serve in and putting spin on the ball.”
Schmidt, a sophomore, played varsity last year, and said he has been playing tennis since seventh grade.
Joe had an older brother and an older sister that played tennis at Seymour and said he is happy to follow in their footsteps.
“My brother and I both started at the same time,” Joe said. “I think overall I’ve improved, and I probably need to work on a little bit of everything.
“It’s really important to win the first set. That can really boost your confidence if you win that first set and it lets you have a good rest of the match, too.”
The Owls lost to Austin in the sectional finals. Schmidt said, “We need to work hard in practice to win the sectional this year. I think we have a good chance.”
Shelbyville’s Aidan Asher defeated Hunter Hackman 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
Davis said playing the No. 1 singles player from the other school is tough.
“(Winning) doesn’t always happen,” he said. “Its hard competition when you’re playing at the No. 1 singles spot.”
Seymour’s Eli Meyer and Jack VonDielingen blanked Charlie Riff and Karson Schaf 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, and Reuben Kruse and Parker Thompson took care of Connor Zobel and Layne Pogue 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles.
“They’re (doubles) good at what they do, and encouraging to one-another. That just rubs off on everybody else,” Davis said. “We’re always learning from our mistakes, and always getting better each day. Despite being a hot day, we came out and we did what we know how to do, and that is play consistent, and be the best we can be and try to win.”
Winning junior varsity doubles for the owls were Trevor Alberring and Dillon Thompson 8-1, Drew Handloser and Ross Pumphrey 8-1, and Xavier DuBois and Joel Stevens 8-1.
The Owls (4-1) will host Jennings County Tuesday.