Centerville won the Richmond Girls Tennis Sectional with a 3-2 win over Hagerstown.
RICHMOND, Ind. – Tennis may be a team sport that needs all five players contributing, but on Saturday the championship of the Richmond Girls Sectional came down to one match.
With the contest tied at 2-2, Centerville’s Chloe Uphaus came through for her team at No. 3 singles as the Bulldogs won their sixth title and first since 2010.
Uphaus lost the first set 6-2 and then fell behind Hagerstown’s Jacqueline Habzansky in the second on the Tiernan Center Courts.
“Chloe gutted it out,” Centerville Head Coach Randy Ecker said. “She’s down 3-0 and comes back and gets the second set. She gets down in the third set a fights again.”
Uphaus eventually won the second set 6-4. As Hagerstown won two other matches to tie the contest, Uphaus was behind in the final set.
“It was really a big challenge for me,” Uphaus said. “I’ve never lost a first set.”
“When it got to be 3-4 in the third set (Ecker) said that it was up to me,” she continued. “It helped motivate me because I really wanted to help our team win.”
It proved to be the decisive moment as Uphaus won the final three games to take her match and move the Bulldogs to 16-0.
“I really did believe this was going to be a 3-2 match,” Ecker said. “Hagerstown played so well.”
“They played so scrappy, so hard,” Ecker added. “They made us fight for everything. Everybody came to play and I’m proud of them.”
Earlier in the day, Centerville picked up the initial wins of the match.
Shelby Good defeated Kayla McFarland 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, while at No. 2 doubles Addie Walther and Morgan Guenther beat Kayla Vinson and Abby Shepherd 6-2, 6-2.
Tigers Advance
With their two victories on Saturday, Hagerstown’s No. 1 singles player Savannah Houck along with the top doubles team of Mekayla Todd and McKenzie Fleming will continue in next week’s regional tourney at Richmond.
“It was very intense,” Hagerstown Head Coach Stephanie Beeson said. “By the time it got to where everyone was in three sets, they played absolutely fantastic.”
Houck came back to defeat Abby Stewart 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Todd and Fleming bounced back after dropping the second set to beat Robyn Raatz and Kendall Horner 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).
“They just had to dig deep to beat them,” Beeson said of her doubles squad.
Hagerstown finishes the season at 9-3.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to play the winner of Oldenburg and South Dearborn in the Richmond Regional on Tuesday.
Sectional Championship Box Score
Singles
No. 1 – Savannah Houck (H) def. Abby Stewart (C) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
No. 2 – Shelby Good (C) def. Kayla McFarland (H) 6-1, 6-2.
No. 3 – Chloe Uphaus (C) def. Jacqueline Habzansky (H) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Doubles
No. 1 – Mekayla Todd and McKenzie Fleming (H) def. Robyn Raatz and Kendall Horner (C) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2).
No. 2 – Addie Walther and Morgan Guenther (C) def. Kayla Vinson and Abby Shepherd (H) 6-2, 6-2.