INDIANAPOLIS – As much jubilation as Jasper felt walking off the courts at North Central High School on Saturday with the IHSAA girls tennis state championship trophy in tow, the feelings had to be the reverse for Brebeuf Jesuit.
Jasper shook off years of near-misses and claimed its first state title with a 4-1 victory, denying Brebeuf its sixth state title. A win for the Braves would have brought home that championship trophy for the first time since 1984.
Further, Brebeuf came into the finals ranked No. 1 in the state and as the only unbeaten team. Coach Brent Claymon’s squad was riding high after taking out rival and perennial-power Carmel in the regional round before beating defending state-champ South Bend St. Joseph in last week’s semistate.
However, Jasper rode a wave of momentum after beating Westfield, 4-1, in Saturday’s morning semifinal — bolstered by a trio of three-set victories — and didn’t flinch in the final.
“We didn’t come in scared,” Jasper coach Scott Yarbrough said. “… We weren’t intimidated or overwhelmed, but I wasn’t sure how much energy we would have.”
As it turned out, Jasper had plenty as evidenced by taking the first set on all five courts.
Brebeuf, however, also came in confident as it held on for a 3-2 win over Munster in its semifinal with No. 2 doubles Chloe Cannon and Leah Klapper providing the decisive point by winning in three sets.
“We had a great match (Saturday) morning,” Claymon said. “Against Jasper, I felt we matched up at the singles spots.”
The proved correct as all three matches were competitive, but Brebeuf lost two of them. The Braves’ only victory came at No. 3 singles where Maureen Tancredi beat Lila Hawkes, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.
No. 2 singles Kitty Noga fell in three sets to Marian Hayes, 7-6 (9), 2-6, 10-8 (the final set was a 10-point tie-break after the match had been decided), while No. 1 singles Chloe Wendowski fell to Harper Wigand, 6-4, 7-5.
The doubles spots were rough on Brebeuf as Cannon and Klapper couldn’t repeat their morning heroics and fell, 6-3, 6-3, giving Jasper its first point. Wigand’s win put Jasper up, 2-0 and the Wildcats clinched the match at No. 1 doubles as Reese Mundy and Adaysha Smiley took out sisters Caroline and Natalie Held, 7-6 (1), 6-2.
“I congratulate Jasper,” Claymon said. “The better team won. Over the last two years, we’re 43-2, but the two losses were both in the last match of the season. That makes it even tougher, but we do appreciate the opportunity to be here.”
And, there may be more coming. Brebeuf will return Wendowski, Noga, Klapper and Natalie Held to the lineup next season.
“We had some big holes to fill,” Claymon said, “but we have some siblings coming in and some other good kids, so I think we’re going to pick up from here and be competitive next year.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jasper shakes off years of near-misses, claims first girls tennis state title
Reporting by Lewis Bagley / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
