BEDFORD – Brownstown conquered Bedford North Lawrence in the championship match of the Rob Spencer Invitational during girls high school tennis action on Saturday.
The Stars cruised past Lighthouse Christian 4-1 in the first round, then dropped a 5-0 decision to the Braves in the final.
“I’m happy we made it to the championship match,” BNL coach Ian Dillman said. “It was well deserved, we just have to be able to get to that finish line and cross it.”
In the opener of the event, named for a former BNL coach, the Stars swept the doubles. Claire Edwards and Lauren Salzmann formed a new tandem and topped Lily Hou and Sophia Dai 6-0, 6-1, while the new freshman combination of Abby Colgan and Danielle Dalton stopped Maddie England and Tabby Burlingham 6-3, 6-2 at No.2.
“We played great this round,” Dillman said. “Our two doubles haven’t played a varsity match before, or it’s their first year playing tennis. They were killing it with their groundstrokes and communication on the court. Danielle was able to move the ball around the court, and Abby was able to finish it off at the net. Really excited for that freshman duo.
“Claire held her own at 1 doubles. Having to move to a top position isn’t easy, and Claire handled it with ease. Lauren helped a lot there, she is a great leader on the court for whoever her partner is.”
In singles, Emma Conover rolled past Zorah Chen 6-0, 6-1 at No.1, while Laura Wires decked Naomi Connell 6-0, 6-1 at No.2.
Brownstown swept the finale by taking a couple of close matches. Conover fell to Brynn Burton 6-4, 6-4 at No.1 singles, Destanie Collins clipped Wires 6-3, 6-2 at No.2, while Gracie Fisher and Eulah Beavers stopped Colgan and Dalton 6-1, 6-3 at No.2 doubles.
“This was a tougher opponent,” Dillman said. “In the first sets, we weren’t able to get a hold of much. Brownstown was working us. They was just able to lift their level of play against us and hit that one extra ball back. We didn’t make many mistakes, just some good shot making from the opponents.
“Emma had a good match. I know Emma can beat that girl, she was just hindered from her own mental game. Every court struggled with letting the point they just loss go. We focus too much on previous points that we forget there are more to come.”
BNL (2-6) will visit Bloomfield on Monday.
ROB SPENCER INVITATIONAL
First round
BNL 4, Lighthouse Christian 1
Singles
1 Emma Conover, BNL d. Zorah Chen 6-0, 6-1
2 Laura Wires, BNL d. Naomi Connell 6-0, 6-1
3 Zoe Gray, LC d. Ann Curtis 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1 Claire Edwards and Lauren Salzmann, BNL d. Lily Hou and Sophia Dai 6-0, 6-1
2 Abby Colgan and Danielle Dalton, BNL d. Maddie England and Tabby Burlingham 6-3, 6-2
Championship
Brownstown 5, BNL 0
Singles
1 Brynn Burton d. Emma Conover 6-4, 6-4
2 Destanie Collins d. Laura Wires 6-3, 6-2
3 Nylah Patton d. Ann Curtis 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1 Bella Brown and Glenna Preston d. Claire Edwards and Lauren Salzmann 6-0, 6-2
2 Gracie Fisher and Eulah Beavers d. Abby Colgan and Danielle Dalton 6-1, 6-3
