The long bus ride from Delta to New Palestine sometimes makes it tough to play well against the Dragons.  Once the Eagles arrive after the 1 hour, 40-minute drive, there’s only time for a short warmup before the match must begin.

But Thursday evening, the Eagles more than met the challenge in a matchup of two of the top three teams in the Hoosier Heritage Conference standings.

Delta pounded New Palestine 5-0 in the varsity match.

Senior Gabby Knight led the way at No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-2 victory.

Junior Brylee Beckley played confidently also and romped to a 6-0, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles.

Sophomore Elizabeth Bamidele took a little longer against a quick and scrappy opponent but prevailed 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.

Junior Kelsey Vest and sophomore Katie Manor blitzed their opponents 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles.

And sophomore Rowan Hinds  and freshmen Alexa Bratton won 6-2, 6-3 to complete the sweep at No. 2 doubles.

New Pal entered the match with a 4-1 overall record, including 2-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. But the Dragons collected only 12 games total against the 21st-ranked Eagles (6-2 overall, 2-1 HHC).

In JV action, Delta won most of the matches at the top of the lineup, but New Pal cleaned up in the lower part of the lineup and the Dragons won overall, 9-7.

Delta swept all the singles as Caitlyn Kirrby won 8-6, Olivia Marshall won 8-2, Tru Swoboda pulled out a tiebreaker victory 7-6 (7-0), and Avery Ayres won 7-5.  It was Avery’s first time ever playing singles and was her first-ever high school win!

In doubles, Grace Flowers/Sam Diaz won a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4), Mylee Jones/Ella Marcum won 6-3, and Jocelyn Moody/Hannah Swanson won 6-4.

Some of the top JV records so far at about the halfway point of the season include: Hannah Swanson 8-0, Grace Flowers 7-0, Jocelyn Moody 8-1, Sam Diaz 6-1, Olivia Marshall 9-2, Mylee Jones 8-2, Ella Marcum 5-2, Audrey Anderson 7-3, Addy Anderson 6-3, Tru Swoboda 10-4, Caitlyn Kirby 7-4,  Marley Dowling 7-5 and Anna Marcum 7-5.

The varsity and a few top JV players will compete on Saturday in the 8-team Delta Invitational.  Delta opens against Bloomington South at 8:30 a.m. Saturday,.  Other schools in the tournament include Hamilton Southeastern, Lake Central, Fort Wayne Carroll, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Kokomo and Burris.  The tournament will be split between the Delta and Yorktown courts, with four teams playing at each site throughout the day.

Next week the Eagles will visit Yorktown for the 12th annual SmashCancer match.  The pre-match ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m., with the match to follow.

DELTA 5, NEW PALESTINE 0

Varsity Singles

1. Gabby Knight won 6-0, 6-2
2. Brylee Beckley won 6-0, 6-1
3. Elizabeth Bamidele won 6-2, 6-2

Varsity Doubles

1. Kelsey Vest / Kate Manor won 6-0, 6-0
2. Rowan Hinds/Alexa Bratton won 6-2, 6-3

JV Singles

1. Caitlyn Kirby won 8-6
2. Olivia Marshall won 8-2
3. Tru Swoboda won 8-7 (0)
4. Avery Ayres won 7-5

JV Doubles

1. Anna Dowlng / Anna Marcum lost 4-8
2. Audrey Anderson / Addy Anderson lost 3-6
3. Grace Flowers / Sam Diaz won 8-7 (4)
4. Ella Marcum / Mylee Jones won 6-3
5. Jocelyn Moody / Hannah Swanson won 6-4
6. Mackemzie Lipps / Maggie Ratts lost 1-6
7. Sammi Raleigh / Noelle Longsworth lost 1-6
8. Avery Barnes / Madison Sanchez lost 0-6
9. Blaysha Downing / Ilicia Ritter lost 0-6
10. Ashlynn Sparks / Ava Flowers lost 0-6
11. Chloe Oliver / Jax Hines lost 0-6
12. Caitie Wright / Karlie Obenski lost 0-6