How rebuilt Bloomington South repeated as girls tennis sectional champion
Retool and repeat.
That’s what the Bloomington South girls tennis team did this season, taking a second straight sectional title on a finally sunny Friday, May 23, with a 4-1 win over Bloomington North and then a 4-1 win over Owen Valley in the rain-delayed competition on South’s courts.
“We’ve just been trying to grow,” South coach Matt Corry said. “The girls have put a lot of time in in the off-season towards their commitment to the game and their commitment to each other and the culture that we are intentionally trying to build here.
“We’ve forced on being realistic and being resilient. I think that was a testament to what they accomplished today.”
With the win, South will advance to the Brownsburg Regional semifinals on Tuesday, May 27 at 5:30 p.m. vs. Greencastle, while No. 25 Terre Haute South will meet No. 23 Avon in the other semifinal.
All four doubles players from South’s regional qualifier last year, Carla Demeter, Hannah Vandeventer, Everly Clark and Quinn Reynolds, will make the return trip, but none of them are in the same spots they played in 2024. Five sophomores and three juniors all had a hand in this sectional title.
“I think it was really impressive because we also lost a lot of seniors,” said Demeter, now South’s top singles player. “And the team changed, so we have a real young team. So, I think it’s just really impactful for us because we we’re able to win. And we really grew a lot from the beginning of the season.”
“I think at the beginning of the season, I was more unsure,” Demeter continued. “But even today, I felt pretty confident in what I was able to do. I think I’m a different player than what I was at the beginning of the season.”
Demeter wasted no time picking South’s first point against Owen Valley with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Alyeska Ranard. She picked up a lot facing No. 1 players all year and adjusted her game, with a healthy dose of backspins and slices to keep her opponents off-balance.
“It’s not always just how hard you hit it but more about thinking about it,” Demeter said.
To get there, both teams had to take down their rivals, with OV beating Edgewood 3-2, then turn right around and play an even bigger match. It was a mental test for both teams that took just over three hours.
“It’s a little risky on my end, but I was actually excited about doing that because I want them challenged,” Corry said. “Growth is uncomfortable and I want to put them in situations that keep them having to grind out their toughness. Tonight was just another example.
“Owen Valley came out, we haven’t played them before and they came out with everything to win and nothing to lose and they were gritty.”
Vandeventer pulled out a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kailey Sanders at 2 singles and the Panthers swept the doubles, the No. 2 team of Clare Tweedie and Sydney Gady winning 6-1, 6-2 over Layla Schnurpel and Sadie Neff.
Owen Valley, after its first title since 2011, last played in a sectional final in 2022 and was making its first appearance in the Bloomington Sectional after years of going through Greencastle. It’s a big change, with North and South trading every title going back to 2011 and 24 of the last 26.
Hannah Bixler had the Patriots lone point, beating Stella Ham, 6-4, 6-2.
“I told the girls our Edgewood match was our sectional finals,” OV coach Marc Johnson said. “I’m not going to lie. I’m proud of the progress we made. We started the year 0-6 (including a 3-2 loss to Edgewood) and we finished at 5-8. “3 singles (Hannah Bixler) really stepped up for us and won both of her matches. So, I’m happy. We’re getting there. Coming over here is a little bit of an adjustment.”
Doubles trouble
It was an interesting day for sophomores Everly Clark and Quinn Reynolds, the No. 2 doubles team on the 2024 squad who took over the top spot. They had to dig out of two tough situations.
The first came against North’s Ashley Stegemoller and Ally O’Guinn, who were just one point away from going up 5-2 in the second set. But the Panther duo fought through a couple of deuce points to pull it out and finished off a 6-2, 7-5 win.
Then in the final vs. OV, Clark and Reynolds couldn’t keep the ball in play as the Patriots’ Megan Wall and Cammie King stormed to a 6-2 win in the first set. But something clicked after that and they swept the next sets, 6-1, 6-1, for the win and keep alive in the individual doubles tourney as well.
“They’re competitors,” Corry said. “Sometimes, it’s easy to get lost in the moment, who you’re playing. In the ideal world, you’re able to be disciplined from beginning to end but we’re growing.
“I felt like they were able to do that after the first set.”
South 4, North 1
A flip in the South lineup led an easier win for the Panthers, who needed a third-set win at 2 doubles to beat the Cougars 3-2 in the regular season.
The Panthers moved Mira Koduri from 2 doubles to 3 singles, and she took care of Lilia McHaley, 6-2, 6-2 to avenge a loss from early in the season. That left Clara Tweedie paired with Sydney Gady at 2 doubles, and they swept North’s Claire Hoffa and Oakley Yoder this time, 6-4, 6-3.
“It takes a season to figure out who’s more comfortable and more natural in certain places,” Corry said. “Mira played doubles last year, but I saw her competing and more comfortable at the 3 spot and I also saw a lot of positives in how Sydney was performing at the doubles spot, and that combination was a good one.”
South trailed 3-2 in the second set at 2 doubles before winning out and avoiding the three-set drama from prior.
“I thought our kids fought hard, but South was just the better team,” North coach Barb Mills said. “And I thought they had a plan and it worked against some of our girls, at second doubles and Mira did a really good job at 3 singles.”
Demeter beat Casey O’Connell 6-1, 6-2 at 1 singles and North’s Sarah Kaviani beat Vandeventer 6-3, 6-2.
“I think this was our to get some experience and hope the kids will work hard in the off-season,” Mills said. “It’s a very young team with a lot of upside.”
Bixler lifts Owen Valley by Edgewood
It took a few clutch shots by Bixler to get the job done, but that’s nothing new for the sophomore basketball standout.
She wrapped up the win with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at 3 singles.
“I went over to her and asked, ‘Do you need anything from me?'” Johnson said. “She said, ‘No, I’m not nervous.’ And I think playing in those big games in basketball really helps. The kid doesn’t crack. And she’s only a sophomore.”
It completed a singles sweep and avenged a 3-2 loss to the rival Mustangs early in the season. Ranard beat Marley Jackson 6-1, 6-4 and Sanders beat Cora Jones 6-0, 6-1 at the top two spots.
Edgewood claimed the doubles points as Wren Millick, the only senior in the lineup, and junior Sophia Kapperman rolled over Wall and King 6-1, 6-1, to join Brown County’s top team in the individual doubles tournament. Victoria Wadsworth and Ashlyn Schaeffer beat Schnurpel and Neff, 7-5, 6-1.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How rebuilt South repeated as girls tennis sectional champion
