 Brandi Leeper, front, and Taylor Als, back, watch Leeper’s volley during a conference match earlier this season. The duo won the No. 1 doubles championship at the Northern State Conference Tournament over the weekend. Pilot file photo KNOX — Jimtown won the tourney with championships at four positions for a score of 49, while New Prairie finished runner up with three second-place standings for 37 points, and Bremen placed third with a championship at 1 doubles, a runner-up finish at 1 singles and a fourth-place result at 2 doubles for 33 points at the Northern State Conference Girls Tennis Tournament Saturday at Knox.
The host Lady Redskins won the 3 singles championship and finished third in both the 2 singles and 2 doubles brackets to score a 29 behind Bremen as the two teams closed out their NSC schedules tied for third behind Jimtown and New Prairie, respectively, after Knox topped Bremen in a meet April 22 to finish a win ahead of the Lions in the conference round robin. John Glenn saw a third and a fourth-place finish at 1 doubles and 3 singles, respectively, Saturday for 20 points to finish in fifth both at the tourney and in the final conference standings, followed in order by LaVille and Triton.
Bremen’s sole championship at Knox was earned in three competitive sets at No. 1 doubles as Taylor Als and Brandy Leeper fired back from a loss in the opener to avenge a regular-season defeat to Jimtown’s Brianna Houghton and Ashley Springsteen 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. That championship win came after another split-set, reprisal victory over New Prairie’s Marquaz Jarka and Allison Lange — who topped Glenn’s fourth-place tandem of Ila Jackson and Kaitlin Cassady 6-1, 6-1 in the consolation bracket Saturday — whom Als and Leeper topped 7-5, 6-7, 7-4 in the semifinals.
“They were seeded third going into the tournament,” said Bremen girls tennis head coach Andrew Rhode of his 1 doubles team. “They had lost to both New Prairie and Jimtown, and they beat them both at the tournament. Bremen was down 5-0 in the first set against New Prairie, and we came back to win 7-5, so they won seven straight. It showed a lot of mental toughness. Same thing in the third set, we were down 2-0 against New Prairie and came back. They had a lot of momentum going into the finals and they were feeling really positive, and they pulled another one off against Jimtown, as well.”
Bremen No. 1 Britney Bollenbacher fell in straight sets in her championship match against Jimtown’s Brittney Stebbens but was awarded an At-Large All-Conference distinction for her strong showing Saturday. At 2 doubles, meanwhile, Bremen’s Alicia Kiefer and Amy Siefer finished in fourth place with a loss against Knox’s Corrie Hagen and Sam Pascale, but Kiefer was given an All-Conference Honorable Mention for her efforts.
Bollenbacher and Kiefer are senior co-captains for the Lions, and Rhode said it was nice to be able to send them off with NSC nods in their final seasons.
“It is nice to see them get some recognition for their hard work,” he said. “These two girls are captains of the team, and they show their leadership by working hard, working in the off-season. They’re two special girls and will be missed, but it’s nice to see them get the well-deserved recognition.”
While Hagen and Pascale finished in third place Saturday, Knox No. 3 Elizabeth Caudill won the championship at her position with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over New Prairie’s Joanna Gabarek. Teammate Kierst-ynn Combs placed third at 2 singles with a win over Glenn’s Stephanie Pudlo, while Erika Combs held off another New Prairie player, Moriah Graber, for a 7-5 second-set win and a third-place tourney finish at 1 singles as the Redskins placed at all but one position on their home court.
Erika Combs was voted At-Large All-Conference for Knox, while Glenn senior Jackson was also given At-Large kudos. Glenn 1 singles player Kate Jenkins received an honorable mention, as did Triton No. 1 Aubrey Boardman and LaVille’s No. 1 doubles tandem of Sara Gurtner and Bekah Fagen. Also at the meet, Falcons freshman Anna Schmalzried placed fourth at No. 3 singles.
Meanwhile, at the Northern Lakes Conference Tournament at Warsaw Saturday, rain again halted play, postponing the remainder of the meet until today. Plymouth re-enters second-round play with wins at both doubles positions and at 3 singles. Chelsea Benge took a first-round loss at 2 singles and will enter the loser’s bracket today, while Nicole Beguin is the lone Pilgrim to have already completed two rounds at the NLC tourney with losses at 1 singles to Northridge and Goshen opponents.
Plymouth and Northridge are currently tied at the top of the NLC standings after both teams went 6-1 during round robin play, and with Warsaw and NorthWood tied for third at 5-2 in the NLC, Plymouth head coach Brad Haeck said every match is important.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but there’s an opportunity for us to take conference tomorrow,” he said. “Obviously our goal is to do the best we can and win as many matches as we can. Every match counts at this point.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us but we’re going to try to take care of the things we can take care of and do the best we can.”
• NORTHERN STATE TENNIS TOURNEY
At Knox
TEAM RESULTS: 1. Jimtown 49, 2. New Prairie 37, 3. Bremen 33, 4. Knox 29, 5. John Glenn 20, 5. LaVille 10, 6. Triton 3
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
SINGLES: 1. Brittney Stebbins (J) beat Britney Bollenbacher (B) 6-2, 6-2; 2. Sarah DeShone (J) beat Robin Young (NP) 6-2, 6-3; 3. Elisabeth Caudill (K) beat Joanna Gabarek (NP) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
DOUBLES: 1. Taylor Als-Brandy Leeper (B) beat Brianna Houghton-Ashley Springsteen (J) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5; 2. Cristen Burke-Korie Kelver (J) beat Jill Fischer-Kasey Marley (NP) 6-1, 6-3.
THIRD PLACE MATCHES
SINGLES: 1. Erika Combs (K) beat Moriah Graber (NP) 6-1, 7-5; 2. Kierstynn Combs (K) beat Stephanie Pudlo (JG) 6-2, 6-2; 3. Kaley Funkhouser (J) beat Anna Schmalzried (JG) 6-0, 6-3.
DOUBLES: 1. Marquaz Jarka-Allison Lange (NP) beat Ila Jackson-Kaitlin Cassady (JG) 6-1, 6-1; 2. Corrie Hagen-Sam Pascale (K) beat Alicia Kiefer-Amy Siefer (B) 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.
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