NOBLESVILLE — It was déjà vu for Delta tennis coach Tim Cleland at the Noblesville Tennis Complex on Wednesday, May 27.
In October, No. 13 Delta boys tennis triumphed over No. 11 Westfield in a 3-2 thriller of a match in the semifinals of the Noblesville Regional. The boys would go on to win 5-0 over Alexandria-Monroe to clinch their first regional title since 2022 and first since being reassigned to the tough Noblesville Regional.
On Wednesday, Delta girls tennis had a similar setup. After a 5-0 victory over Jay County in Tuesday’s semifinal match, the No. 15 Eagles entered the sectional championship against No. 10 Westfield — the same team that defeated them in last year’s regional championship match.
This year, Delta got its revenge, defeating the Shamrocks 4-1 to claim its first regional title since 2023. Like the boys, it was their first regional since being reassigned to Noblesville.
“It’s kind of a program win, to be honest,” Cleland said. “All the things that go into it, we’ve got good seniors, we’ve got good character girls, high academics with team academic all-state and two girls who are academic all-state. There’s a lot there that’s a component of tennis, but also just the confidence to put together a game plan, execute a game plan, and believe in themselves in a big moment.
“It’s a very big win to come down to this regional, suburban Indianapolis, and get the job done against a really good school and program.”
Westfield claimed the first point of the match at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory by Isla Harvey over Delta freshman Sophie Crabtree. However, the Eagles quickly leveled the match with a victory at No. 3 singles, where senior Stella Sieber won 6-1, 6-2 over Alexis Halliburton. As a first-year varsity player, Sieber didn’t let the moment get too big in her regional debut.
“I feel like this year has been a big role for me with the added pressure of it being my first year on varsity,” Sieber said. “I just felt confident. I put in so much work this season, and I just trusted my training, all the work, and I just knew what I needed to do. Just be confident, and that helped me get it done tonight.”
Shortly after Sieber’s win, senior Olivia Marshall gave Delta the match lead with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Sloane Seyfert at No. 2 singles. Marshall has proven in her Delta girls basketball career that she knows how to rise to the occasion with a trophy on the line, and she proved that even further with her performance on a different kind of court on Wednesday.
“It’s really more mental than it is physical,” Marshall said. “We focus on working physically, but we also work on being strong and having a good mental attitude and knowing when I’m down that that doesn’t mean I have to give up. I think going in whenever there’s a big championship on the line, I kind of take myself out of it and just do whatever I can to help our team succeed.”
It was the No. 1 doubles match that officially clinched the regional title for Delta, as senior Kate Manor and junior Alexa Bratton won 6-3, 6-3 over Jenna Berry and Bella Rivera for the Eagles’ third win. Bratton overcame a few miscues in the second game to finish it off with a strong backhand, after which a wave of relief washed over the duo as they began the title celebration.
“I give all the credit to our managers that had been working with us,” Bratton said. “They’ve been hitting the ball as hard as they can to us. I didn’t have confidence in those shots that I missed, so Tate (Dishman), our assistant coach, talked to us like, ‘You’ve got to have some confidence.’ So that last shot, I had so much confidence going in that shot, knowing it could be the last shot.”
Even with the regional championship locked up, seniors Elizabeth Bamidele and Rowan Hinds had something to play for at No. 2 doubles. They entered the regional championship with a perfect 23-0 record and had not even dropped a set all season. Westfield’s Kendall Omer and Rayna Roy became the first to win a set against them with a 6-4 win in the opening set, but Bamidele and Hinds rallied to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-2 and improve to 24-0 on the year.
“At the beginning, I think we both felt a little tight, felt the pressure of just doing it for our team and everything like that,” Bamidele said. “After we heard Coach tell us a little bit more about how the match was going, and then No. 1 doubles won, it was more of ‘Okay, we can play free.’ Play how we know we’re going to play and let go of that worry and stress and just do what we need to do.”
Delta will advance to the Homestead Semi-State, where they will face the host Spartans on Saturday, May 30, at 11 a.m.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@usatodayco.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Delta girls tennis knocks off Westfield to win first IHSAA regional title since 2023
Reporting by Cade Hampton, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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