Fifteen-love!
The 15th-ranked Delta girls’ tennis team won its 15th straight sectional championship on Thursday evening.
The Eagles played a sharp match in a 5-0 shutout of Yorktown. They reduced the number of games allowed to the Tigers from 22 in the regular-season victory at SmashCancer to just 12 in the sectional victory.
Delta (17-2) will next play Jay County in the opening round of the Noblesville Regional on Tuesday. Alexandria and 10th-ranked Westfield will face off in the other match. The regional championship is then scheduled for Wednesday.
Although Delta has won 33 of the last 34 sectional titles in girls’ tennis, lifting the trophy is still a somewhat fresh experience for the girls on this year’s team.
For freshman Sophie Crabtree, this was her first time at sectional. In addition, her previous school district, Hauser High School, has never won a girls’ tennis sectional title in school history.
She won 6-3, 6-3 over Yorktown’s Lauren Delk at No. 1 singles.
It was the second time in the sectional lineup for the Eagles’ other singles players, Olivia Marshall and Stella Sieber. Olivia won 6-0, 6-2 over Alysse Taylor, and Stella won 6-0, 6-1 over Claire Carder at No. 3 singles.
The Eagles’ doubles players have more postseason experience. Elizabeth Bamidele and Alexa Bratton were in the sectional lineup for the third time, and Kate Manor and Rowan Hinds lifted the sectional trophy for the fourth time.
Manor and Bratton improved to 20-2 at No. 1 doubles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Emma Wolfert and Hannah Clark. The Delta duo gave up five games to the Tigers in the SmashCancer match but were much more stingy this time.
Hinds and Bamidele gained a 6-3, 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles over Julia McCammon and Georgia Shrieve. Hinds and Bamidele are 22-0 this spring.
Delta and Jay County did not play during the regular season. The starting time for the regional match will be determined today. The match comes on the first day of final exams for Delta, so special arrangements will be made to be able to leave in time for warmup prior to the regional. Admission is $8 per day at the regional round.
Around the state, eight Top 30 state-ranked teams lost in the sectional. Indiana’s top two teams, No. 1 Guerin Catholic and No. 2 Brebeuf, each lost yesterday. To be fair, they faced outstanding opponents. No. 3 Carmel beat No. 1 Guerin 4-1. No. 4 Park Tudor edged No. 2 Brebeuf 3-2.
Other ranked sectional losers included No. 13 Zionsville, No. 21 Brownsburg, No. 24 Avon, No. 26 Lake Central, and No. 27 Franklin and No. 30 Hamilton Southeastern.