Girls tennis: Bulldogs net sweep of Scarlets
Apr. 26—OTTUMWA — Jordan Lee now has a unique memory from her first season of high school tennis.
Actually, it's a fairly unique memory for any tennis player. One that only comes after taking a tennis ball off the face.
"I didn't think I had a bloody nose," Lee said. "The ball surprised me when it came back over the net. It didn't hurt. I could feel my nose running. It wasn't until I checked it that I realized it was bleeding."
Of course, typical of this year's Ottumwa High School girls tennis team, Lee could talk about a bloody nose with a smile on her face. The Bulldogs had plenty to smile about on Tuesday after walking off Jon Kneen Courts with an 11-0 Iowa Alliance Conference south division sweep of Des Moines East.
"These are a good group of girls that like to have fun together," Ottumwa head coach Leanna White said. "Honestly, that's what it's all about."
The Bulldogs didn't drop a set against the Scarlets, winning 60 of the 70 games played between the teams in the five doubles' matches including a pair of 6-0, 6-0 sweep by freshmen teammates Ava Barnes and Emerson Keith in the No. 5 doubles match. Beverly Bishop and Nellie Morgan continued a successful first season as partners on Ottumwa's top doubles team, sweeping Tabitha Hochmuth and Kaylee Khanthavixay without dropping a game bringing smiles and laughs out of each other while trying to remember who gave whom the best advice during the match.
"I think I told Beverly to breath during that first set," Morgan recalled.
"I told you to breath," Bishop replied with a smile.
The good times continued in singles play for the Bulldogs. Bishop closed out a perfect day on the court with another 6-0, 6-0 sweep dominating Hochmuth in the top singles match to help secure Ottumwa's third conference win of the season.
"I was a little more aggressive and a lot more consistent," Bishop said. "I actually started kind of slow in doubles play, but it's encouraging having someone like Nellie there to talk to. I try not to make it too hard on myself being in those top matches. I just try to go out there and play as hard as I can without getting too down on myself if things aren't going my way."
Hailey Garrison also picked up a sweep in singles play for Ottumwa, winning the No. 3 match with a pair of 6-2 set wins over Leslie Reyes. Not only was it Garrison's first win as the No. 3 singles player for the Bulldogs, but it came with an added bonus of coming while other varsity matches were still ongoing.
"I've had a lot of long matches this year and I'm usually the last player off the court," Garrison said. "I've been in a tiebreakers twice. It's helped me learn how to play with more consistency. I've learned what to do more and how to improve each time out there."
Garrison was able to cheer on doubles partner Hannah Nguyen to a 6-4, 6-1 win in the No. 4 singles match over Jenesha Subba. White pointed out Nguyen's resilience as the Ottumwa senior won nine of the final 10 games after falling behind 4-3 in the opening set.
"I'll tell them things that might spark something. I told Hannah about a drill we were working on the other day and that helped her come back," White said. "We talked the other day in practice about making our opponents move as opposed to hitting the ball in the middle. Seeing what we're doing in practice being put into match play is all I can ask for. That's why we work on the things we do."
Ottumwa (3-5, 3-2 Iowa Alliance) will be back on the court on Thursday at home against unbeaten Ames. First serve comes at 3 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Ottumwa 11, Des Moines East 0
Singles results
Beverly Bishop (O) def. Tabitha Hochmuth (E), 6-0, 6-0; Nellie Morgan (O) def. Kaylee Khanthavixay (E), 6-1, 6-3; Hailey Garrison (O) def. Leslie Reyes (E), 6-2, 6-2; Hannah Nguyen (O) def. Jenesha Subba (E), 6-4, 6-1; Elizabeth Bishop (O) def. Yajana Rai (E), 6-4, 6-1; Jordan Lee (O) def. Lathida Saengdara (E), 6-3, 6-1.
Doubles results
Bishop and Morgan (O) def. Hochmuth and Khanthavixay (E), 6-0, 6-0; Nguyen and Garrison (O) def. Reyes and Subba, 6-1, 6-3; Bishop and Lee (O) def. Rai and Saengdara (E), 6-2, 6-1; Yulenia Curiel and Jennifer Davis (O) def. Brenda Moreno and Natalie Krewer-Luchman (E), 6-2, 6-1; Ava Barnes and Emerson Keith (O) def. Jennifer Martinez and Bella Daugherty (E), 6-0, 6-0.
— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.
