Braves edge out Cougars 3-2

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It came to number two doubles on Monday night between Trinity Lutheran and Brownstown Central.

The Braves and Cougars were even at 2-2 and awaited the final score of two doubles to determine the match’s winner.

It was Bella Brown and Kaitlyn Williams who came away with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Natalee Martinez and Gabby Bleier to secure the 3-2 win for the Braves.

Brownstown’s other two points came from one doubles and three singles.

“The doubles teams were definitely better tonight,” Brownstown head coach Erik Stangland said. “Leah (Pottschmidt), in the second set, she didn’t get behind. As soon as I saw her win the first game (in three singles), I was like she’s gonna win this one.”

Pottschmidt defeated Ella Christopher 6-3, 6-1. At one doubles, Hannah Hackman and Chelsea Luedeman beat Kiley Zabel and Carson Bowling 6-2, 6-2. It was senior night for the Braves, and Hackman and Luedeman were both seniors, along with Lexie Satterthwaite and manager Grant Elliot.

“It feels good,” Hackman said. “Everyone was here watching us, so it’s nice to get a win.”

Hackman and Luedeman advanced to regionals as a team last year, and they’ve been taking lessons together this year to better their chemistry on the court.

“We’ve been taking lessons together, so we’re learning to move better and talk and just like creating our friendship better,” Hackman said. “She’s very aggressive at the net. She handles the volleys and I handle the ground strokes, so we mesh well together.”

Trinity picked up wins at one and two singles. Sarah Lemming beat Ava McKinney 6-2, 6-2 at one singles and Drew Hubbard beat Brynn Burton 6-0, 6-1 at two singles.

“We struggled at one and two (singles), just gotta get confidence there,” Stangland said. “But Trinity played really well at one and two and deserved those wins.”

For Lemming, she believes keeping her cool and maintaining consistent placement was why she was able to win her match on Monday.

Match point for Lemming came on a return shot from McKinney’s serve. Lemming, a southpaw, ripped her return to the opposite corner to secure the win.

“It’s good closure for a good match because I worked hard and she was working hard, too,” Lemming said. “I just did my best to watch what she was doing and make my moves based off of that.”

This is Lemming’s third year at No. 1 singles, and she believes playing in that spot as an underclassmen helped her get more comfortable in the role as she got older.

“As an underclassmen, I was kind of an underdog a little bit,” she said. “I think that playing number one singles as an underclassmen, it gave me experience and chance to build up my strength and my mental strength, so that I can be prepared for this year.”

The Trinity senior also wanted to play more aggressive this season, and she feels she has done that.

“I’ve had a little bit more of a defensive approach in the past and it’s worked a lot of the time, but when players are better, you can’t really have a defensive approach,” she said. “So, I’ve been working on hitting a much more aggressive forehand and backhand this year, and that’s worked for me.”

Both teams will be back in action today. Brownstown will be home against Jennings County and Trinity will be home against Christian Academy.

Stangland was happy his team was able to get the win for the seniors on Monday.

“Getting to see them play and help us out this year has been a really nice year,” he said. “It’s been a struggle with the wins and losses but we’ve gotten better as an overall team, so that’s a big deal for us this year.”

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