Squires Use Lopsided Singles Wins To Down ValleyNORTH MANCHESTER – Getting three lopsided wins in singles play, Manchester went on to a 4-1 Three Rivers Conference girls tennis win over visiting Tippecanoe Valley Monday.
The Squires’ singles trio of Kelsey Eichenauer, Halle Briner and Eva Bazzoni lost just two games over six sets. Doubles play was another story as the No. 2 team of Rebekah Pyle and Alyssa Marvel needed a little something extra before winning 6-2, 6-3 over Vikings Haley Baker and Kaitlin Neese.
Valley’s Tiphanie Hodge and Makenna Bradley won at No. 1 doubles over Anna Osborne and Halie Wampler.
“At two doubles we're up comfortably in each set, and in fact we were up 5-1 in the last set,” Manchester head coach?Joel Eichenauer said. “We got a little loose with some errors and some double faults, and sometimes a freshman will play like a freshman. But they got back to what they wanted to do, and were able to close out that last set.
“At one doubles, after playing pretty well at Huntington North on Wednesday, they really struggled today. They looked flat, and didn’t quite get it turned around. They got a spark in the second set, but they let it go and they didn’t do the things they can do to win a close match.
“So we were pretty disappointed in that, but I told them, ‘There’s something we can learn each time out, whether you win or lose.’ Hopefully, that’s what they can do.”
Predictably, the Squires coach was very happy with the results from his three singles players.
“We’re pretty solid in singles. I have to hand it to Eva Bazzoni, she just dominated out there,” Eichenauer said. The coach is the father of No. 1 singles player Kelsey Eichenauer.
“When you feel like you have the strokes that are good enough to win, sometimes the kids get impatient and try to win the match with one shot. What Eva did well was played the placement game for a couple of shots while waiting for her opportunity to hit a winner. That shows a lot of maturity on her part. In the past she could get a little frustrated with longer points. She took her time and when she does that, she wins more points and gives up fewer games, and she avoids the frustration battle that way.
“Halie’s been a solid player for us. She worked on some things today and worked on some different shots, and Kelsey did the same thing at one singles. They were able to play not just to win, but to get better, too. They’re moving their feet well, and I’m happy with their shot selection.
Valley coach Andrew Luce was complimentary of his opponent but not discouraged by his team’s position in the grand scheme of things.
“Tonight we played the best team we’ve played this season,” Luce said. “Manchester is really deep, and they could do whatever they wanted to do with us. They’re more experienced than we are; we’re sophomore-heavy and some of our girls, this is the first year they’ve played.
“So this is more of a learning experience than anything for us. As we build a program, as hard as it is to lose, these nights are good learning experiences for us. The progress we’ve made thus far to get to 6-6, we’re pleased with it.”
Coach Eichenauer said his team is committed to improvement, which should serve them well as the season winds down.
“We’ve got a bunch of good girls. They’re smart, they’re hard-working and fun to be around, and that makes for good chemistry with the team,” he said. “We’re actually looking forward to a day of practice (today) and hopefully getting a little better each day.”
Manchester is off until Wednesday, when Peru comes to town. Valley will make up a postponed TRC match with visiting Whitko today.
