PAOLI – Bedford North Lawrence posted its first wins on the court this season while finishing third in the Paoli Invitational during girls high school tennis action on Saturday.
Emma Conover recorded a first-round win in No.1 singles, while the No.2 doubles duo of Emma Voris and Claire Edwards also broke through with a win in the opening round as the Stars totaled 4 team points. Southeastern won the team title with 15 points while Evansville Christian had 13 in the four-team event.
Conover conquered Paoli’s Morgan Flannery 6-2, 6-0 in her first match, then dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision to Christian’s Kate Cashmer in the final.
”Emma played super well against Paoli,” BNL coach Ian Dillman said. “She usually struggles with low balls, hitting them into the net, but she was able to get around to the side of the ball, drop her racket, and pick the ball up over the net. She was evening killing it at net, and you don’t see that often in singles.
“Her second round was some of her best hitting. Her movement was there and her errors were low. That’s a good sign to see as a No.1 singles player.”
Voris and Edwards fought off Paoli’s Addie Payton and Kendyl Thompson 6-2, 6-4 in their opener, then fell to Southwestern’s Jacelyn Johnson and Kaylee Hite 6-0, 6-0 in the final.
”Emma and Claire did a fantastic job in their first-round match,” Dillman said. “They were dominant at the net in the first set and forced their opponents off the court. In the second set you could feel the heat coming, but we were able to hold our nerves and pull it out. I couldn’t be happier with my freshman duo that match.”
BNL was able to win six games during the two rounds on the other three courts.
“With our other courts, we still struggled with moving our feet and anticipating the next ball,” Dillman said. “We are hitting the drawing board for those people with more footwork drills. Footwork is huge, we have to be able to move to a ball.
“The other teams were just too strong with their groundstrokes. They were able to place their shots and make my team work for it.”
BNL will host Bloomington North on Monday.
PAOLI INVITATIONAL
Team scores – Southwestern 15, Evansville Christian 13, BNL 4, Paoli 3
BNL results
Singles
1 Emma Conover d. Morgan Flannery, Paoli 6-2, 6-0; lost to Kate Cashmer, EVC 6-0, 6-1
2 Bailey Guthrie lost to Sydney Rietman, EVC 6-0, 6-0; lost to Lille Johnson, Paoli 6-0, 6-0
3 Jada Key lost to Hattie Jones, EVC 6-0, 6-1; lost to Ava Hall, Paoli 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
1 Ann Curtis and Lauren Salzmann lost to Ava Barnes and Raygan Crawford, SW 6-0, 6-0; lost to Audrey Hall and Aurora Hays, Paoli 6-2, 6-0
2 Emma Voris and Claire Edwards d. Addie Payton and Kendyl Thompson, Paoli 6-2, 6-4; lost to Jacelyn Johnson and Kaylee Hite, SW 6-0, 6-0
