Seymour’s Brooke Schafstall hits a forehand shot at No. 1 singles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Elise Hartung returns a shot at No. 2 singles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Caroline Thompson hits a forehand shot at No. 1 doubles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Jessica Hougland jumps up to hit a shot at the net at No. 1 doubles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
BLOOMINGTON — The Seymour girls tennis team knew it had its hands full against No. 12-ranked Columbus North in the regional semifinal on Tuesday at Bloomington South, but all head coach Brandon Davis wanted his team to do was leave it all out there.
That was on display all night for the Owls, and despite losing the match 4-1, it paid off for the No. 1 doubles team of Caroline Thompson and Jessica Hougland, who were able to score a victory in a three-set match, winning it 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 10-5.
“They held true, they played defense and I think it frustrated the other side,” Davis said on one doubles. “They took their time and were relaxed.”
Since Thompson and Hougland lost to Scottsburg‘s one doubles team in the sectional, they will not advance in the doubles bracket.
The Bull Dogs won 6-0, 6-0 at all three singles positions on Tuesday. Brooke Schafstall played at No. 1, Elise Hartung at No. 2 and Claire Combs at No. 3.
Seymour’s No. 2 doubles team of Ava Sunbury and Addison Hunsley lost 6-3, 6-4.
Seymour’s Jessica Hougland jumps up to hit a shot at the net at No. 1 doubles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Caroline Thompson hits a forehand shot at No. 1 doubles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Elise Hartung returns a shot at No. 2 singles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
Seymour’s Brooke Schafstall hits a forehand shot at No. 1 singles during Tuesday night’s regional match against Columbus North at Bloomington South.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
“I wanted them to leave everything they had, 100%,” Davis said. “We didn’t want them to come out half-hearted, and I think all five positions did that. When you see your players give everything they’ve got even when they lose, that’s good for me.”
The seniors on Seymour’s roster this season were Schafstall, Hougland, Thompson, Ashley Clemente, Marlo Cornn and Chantel Wilson.
Even though this is Davis’ first year coaching the girls team at the high school, he has known a lot of these players for a while and can’t say enough about his group of seniors.
“I’ve known these girls for a while through summer tennis. Some of them were managers for the boys season. They’ve done lessons for kids, run camps for kids,” Davis said. “What they do on the court is great, but what these girls did for the community of Seymour and just being good role models means more to me than anything. They’re good at what they do, and they will continue to be good at what they do for years to come.”
The Owls finished the season with an overall team record of 14-4, only losing to Franklin, New Albany and Columbus North twice.
Seymour was runner-up in the Hoosier Hills Conference and won its fourth straight sectional title. Davis is excited about what the program can do to grow.
“I think we set the bar high for ourselves, and we met it,” Davis said. “I think there’s always room for growth, and we will continue to try to find those rooms for growth. We’re not perfect, we know that, we can always be better each day. At the end of the day, it’s a good reflection when you can say that — when you need to grow, and we know how to grow.”