Squires Finish Undefeated TRC Season With Win Over Southwood
May 14, 2019 at 3:04 a.m.
Squires Finish Undefeated TRC Season With Win Over Southwood
By Mark Howe-
Monday, the Squires capped off that goal in style, dropping just eight games in 10 sets in a 5-0 win over visiting Southwood.
Kelsey Eichenauer needed the minimum 12 games to win her No. 1 singles match, with sophomores Halle Briner and Eva Bazzoni needing 13 games each to win at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively.
The No. 1 doubles team of Anna Osborne and Halie Wampler, as well at No. 2 doubles duo of Morgan Stroud and Alyssa Marvel, won by identical 6-2, 6-1 scores.
Head coach Joel Eichenauer, Kelsey’s dad, was asked if, before the season started, his team thought they could have a perfect run in the TRC.
“We did. We weren’t trying to be overconfident, we knew we’d have to show up each match to be able to do it,” he said.
“This is the first time in school history we’ve won four straight conference championships, and on paper we knew we have the luck of having our No. 1 and No. 2 singles players coming back; normally you graduate one, the other or both. But in Kelsey Eichenauer and Halle Briner, we have strong, dominant players that have won a ton of matches for us. And Halle is just a sophomore; she’s got more good years to go.
“Eva Bazzoni is such a good athlete in other sports. She plays varsity volleyball and varsity basketball, and she’s solid in that No. 3 spot.
“Overall, we’re blessed with some athletic, smart and competitive girls, and when they put it all together, they rattled off an undefeated conference season.”
Next up on the list of Squires team goals - the defense of the last three sectional titles, and then a deep postseason run. The Peru Sectional features six TRC teams.
Manchester drew a first-round bye in the sectional, and will play either Peru or Wabash in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“This group of seniors has put together quite a run for us, and we’re hoping to go deep into the postseason with them. We do have a good chance at that sectional run again, and maybe even a run at a regional (title). Peru will be our stiffest competition (in the sectional), and we beat them 4-1 last week,” Eichenauer said. “They’re a decent team at several spots, and they have some depth, but we’re capable of beating them at all five spots.
“We have the toughest regional draw, getting the winner of the Bremen Sectional. Plymouth is the four-time defending champion there, and they’re better than Warsaw this year and Culver Academies. It would have been nice to have a different draw, but if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best teams sometime.”
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Monday, the Squires capped off that goal in style, dropping just eight games in 10 sets in a 5-0 win over visiting Southwood.
Kelsey Eichenauer needed the minimum 12 games to win her No. 1 singles match, with sophomores Halle Briner and Eva Bazzoni needing 13 games each to win at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively.
The No. 1 doubles team of Anna Osborne and Halie Wampler, as well at No. 2 doubles duo of Morgan Stroud and Alyssa Marvel, won by identical 6-2, 6-1 scores.
Head coach Joel Eichenauer, Kelsey’s dad, was asked if, before the season started, his team thought they could have a perfect run in the TRC.
“We did. We weren’t trying to be overconfident, we knew we’d have to show up each match to be able to do it,” he said.
“This is the first time in school history we’ve won four straight conference championships, and on paper we knew we have the luck of having our No. 1 and No. 2 singles players coming back; normally you graduate one, the other or both. But in Kelsey Eichenauer and Halle Briner, we have strong, dominant players that have won a ton of matches for us. And Halle is just a sophomore; she’s got more good years to go.
“Eva Bazzoni is such a good athlete in other sports. She plays varsity volleyball and varsity basketball, and she’s solid in that No. 3 spot.
“Overall, we’re blessed with some athletic, smart and competitive girls, and when they put it all together, they rattled off an undefeated conference season.”
Next up on the list of Squires team goals - the defense of the last three sectional titles, and then a deep postseason run. The Peru Sectional features six TRC teams.
Manchester drew a first-round bye in the sectional, and will play either Peru or Wabash in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“This group of seniors has put together quite a run for us, and we’re hoping to go deep into the postseason with them. We do have a good chance at that sectional run again, and maybe even a run at a regional (title). Peru will be our stiffest competition (in the sectional), and we beat them 4-1 last week,” Eichenauer said. “They’re a decent team at several spots, and they have some depth, but we’re capable of beating them at all five spots.
“We have the toughest regional draw, getting the winner of the Bremen Sectional. Plymouth is the four-time defending champion there, and they’re better than Warsaw this year and Culver Academies. It would have been nice to have a different draw, but if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best teams sometime.”
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