Tigers top Stars in key Sagamore duel
May 11—LEBANON — The Lebanon girls tennis team has had a challenging schedule the past couple of weeks to make sure they were ready for a key stretch of Sagamore Conference matches.
The knowledge gained in those tough matches paid off on Monday, as the Tigers topped rival Western Boone 3-2 to put them in a position to battle for the conference title this week.
"We know we aren't done yet and there are quality teams left to play, but this was big for us," Lebanon head coach Joe LePage said. "Western Boone is well coached and we knew it was going to be a really close match, probably a 3-2 either way. It's just great to come out on top."
Heading into the match, the Tigers had lost four-straight matches — three to teams ranked in the top-30 in the state.
But despite those setbacks, LePage said the girls knew they still had a chance to accomplish a big goal of winning the Sagamore Conference championship if they stayed focused on themselves.
"We were building toward the conference matches," LePage said. "In a lot of those matches, we kept circling back to getting ready for anything we could see this week. It's going to be tough this week, and we wanted those tough matches to test us and mold us into better players."
For Western Boone, it was the first conference loss of the season, dropping them 11-4 and 3-1 in the Sagamore Conference.
"It was a typical WeBo-Lebanon battle, we knew it was going to be a tight one either way," Western Boone head coach Colin Haney said. "We were just on the wrong end of it today."
Lebanon jumped out to a 2-0 lead with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles.
At No. 1 singles, Jessica Lehmkuhler topped Lindsey Coffman 6-2, 6-2 and at No. 2 singles, Ava Lehmkuhler defeated Katie Jahn 6-2, 6-2.
The Stars took the match at No. 3 singles, with Marli Ransom defeating Molly Barber 6-4, 6-4.
Lebanon clinched the win at No. 1 doubles, with the team of Michelle Horvat and Irene Ransom defeating WeBo's Jaden Maize and Makaila Arnold 6-4-, 6-4.
The Tiger tandem was down 4-3 in both sets before battling back to win.
"It really speaks to their resilience," LePage said. "They maybe didn't have their best stuff tonight, but they had their best stuff when it mattered. When the chips were down, we challenged them and they delivered on the court. It was great to see them battle back from slow starts to get the job done."
It was only the eighth match that the Lebanon pair had played together this year, coming together midway through the season.
They are now 7-1 in those matches.
"They are both juniors, they are likeable, fun young ladies and they are friends off the court," LePage said. "Their games compliment each other really well. Michelle slices the ball really well and is good at the net, and Irene can get to a lot of balls in the back. They really gelled quickly and work well together."
Western Boone got its second point at No. 2 doubles, where the team of Kaley Hawkins and Maddie Hawkins topped Khushi Patel and Haley Pierce 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
"They lost a lead in the first set, but did a good job of not getting rattled," Haney said. "They were able to handle their business in the last two sets."
Both teams will be busy with Sagamore Conference matches this week.
The Stars host Danville Tuesday and Crawfordsville Wednesday to close out conference play. WeBo needs to win both and hope the Tigers drop a conference match somewhere to share the conference title.
"We aren't leaving here hanging our heads or anything, we have come a long way," Haney said. "I am proud of the way the girls played today and the way they carried themselves out there. We have a lot of great girls on this team. A couple years ago we were co-conference champions after starting the year 0-1, so we know anything can happen."
Lebanon travels to Southmont Tuesday, to Frankfort Thursday and to Crawfordsville Saturday.
If Lebanon wins all three, they are conference champions.
"It's great to beat a county opponent, but we know we have to celebrate it tonight then move on quickly," LePage said. "Southmont is a hungry team, Frankfort has some youth and talent and Crawfordsville is right up there as one of the top teams in the conference. We know we have to play our solid game to get wins."
Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.
