Lady Knights go deep to pick up win over Triway
Going into the varsity tennis match between West Holmes and Triway Wednesday, August 17, at Christmas Run Park in Wooster, the Lady Titans’ lack of experience meant they didn’t have a lot of depth, while the Lady Knights’ nine-deep roster meant some of their players didn’t have a lot of experience early in the season.
It made it seem like a pretty even matchup to Lady Titans’ first-year head coach Andy Redd, who said, “We thought maybe we could squeak out second and third singles, and maybe a doubles match.”
They couldn’t.
Stepping onto the varsity court for the first time in their careers, the Lady Knights’ all-sophomore pairing of Morgan Wagers and Savannah Yoder showed ninth-year West Holmes head coach Jason Otto just how deep his 2011 squad is, squashing Triway’s senior tandem of Angela Coblentz and Laleen Lehr 6-0, 6-0 at second doubles, to help lead the Lady Knights to a 5-0 sweep of the Lady Titans, and a 3-0 record on the young season, during which they haven’t dropped a single set.
“They did really well,” said Otto after watching his two sophomores gain a little experience, in fairly dominating fashion. “I’m sure they’re excited. Their first varsity match and they went 0 and 0. It was nice to see them get their first varsity win. Winning breeds confidence.”
Just ask West Holmes junior Marki Hogle, who spent last season on Otto’s junior varsity team, before hard work during the offseason landed her at third singles for the Lady Knights’ season-opening match against Central Christian on Monday, August 15.
Hogle served up double-bagels in that match, followed that up, one day later, with a 6-1, 6-1 second singles win at Mansfield St. Peter’s, and picked up her third win in as many days by cruising past Lady Titans’ junior, number three singles player Jennifer Anderson 6-1, 6-1.
“We lost experience after last year,” explained Redd. “We’ve got a pretty good first and second singles, but after that we just don’t have varsity experience. We have age, we just don’t have the experience of going to varsity matches and knowing how to win.”
But that’s exactly what Otto had at every remaining position on the courts, with junior 2010 Division II State runner-up Rachel Nelson playing first singles; senior Brittany Polen playing number two, after reaching Districts a year ago as a doubles pairing with her twin sister, Jenna Polen, who just happened to be playing first doubles against Triway on Wednesday, along with Lady Knights junior Hannah Frank, who also reached Districts last season, playing with 2010 graduate Rachel Koch.
“It’s not the same as last year, so I’m just going to forget about last year and try and start fresh,” said Nelson after easily disposing of Triway senior Kimberly Carter 6-0, 6-0, running her Triway opponent from side-to-side on the baseline, drawing her in with the occasional drop shot, and rifling some impossible to return shots right past the overmatched Titan, while pushing her season record to 3-0 and continuing a three-match streak in which she hasn’t dropped a single game.
“Rachel is an incredible player and it’s such an honor to play her,” said Carter, who was given the option of playing first singles or first doubles by Redd. “She definitely hits a very good ball. It’s a little bit intimidating, but I know she has so much more experience than I do.”
It was a similar scenario at second singles, where the senior District qualifier Brittany Polen was matched up against Triway sophomore Sarah Herald, but the Lady Titan shocked Polen by jumping out to a 4-2 lead in set one, before the Lady Knight rallied to win five of the last six games and take the opening set 7-5.
Battling for nearly an hour-and-a-half, Polen finally captured the second set 6-4, following an extended match point rally, which saw Herald crash into the chain link fence beyond the baseline while making an impossible return on a lob shot from Polen, before hitting her final shot long and wide.
“That was tough. I definitely need some conditioning,” said a clearly exhausted Polen as she came off the court, but conditioning wasn’t a factor for Frank, who has been playing softball for the past six months leading up to the start of tennis season, and who was teamed up with fellow 2010 District qualifier Jenna Polen for the second time this season.
“My backhand and my softball swing are the same, so I’ve got to tone that down a little bit,” said Frank, who blasted a few long and deep during her 6-2, 6-0 first doubles victory with Jenna Polen, which caused Redd to lament, “The main thing we don’t have is doubles experience. We don’t have that girl that’s played varsity doubles three years and knows what to do.”
But while Frank and Polen were teamed up for only the second time, their combined experience showed as they rolled past Triway to complete the sweep.
“My freshman year I played with a different partner than I did my sophomore year, so it doesn’t take that much to adjust to a new partner, especially when she’s good, like Jenna is.”
Add in senior Miranda Huebner and junior Chelsea Black who started the season 2-0 at second doubles, before sitting out against Triway to clear the way for Wagers and Yoder, and West Holmes has nine players who seem pretty good, like Jenna is.
“It’s nice to have depth,” said Otto after defeating his high school alma mater. “If you only have five or six girls, you know you have one or two spots that are questionable, but having eight or nine girls that can play varsity…it’s really nice to have that depth.”
Published: August 17, 2011
