May 26, 2005

Culver wins tennis regional

By MARK BRADFORD
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Someone, somewhere, knows when the last time was that Culver Academy won a girls tennis regional.

Whomever that someone is was not in attendance Wednesday night as the Eagles followed the lead of their incredible singles players and defeated Plymouth, 4-1, to win the South Bend Clay regional.

Culver Academy advances to Saturday's LaPorte semistate, where they will play Warsaw at 10 a.m. The championship match is set for 2 p.m.

Eagles' head coach Jarin Jaffee's confidence never wavered.
"Every team should have two singles players like we have," he said in reference to his two nationally ranked players, freshman Romina Clemente and senior Lora Dushanova.

Clemente dismantled Pilgrim senior Aubrey Shanks at No. 2 singles using bullet-like serves and line drive returns, which forced Shanks to play defense rather than attacking the net. The contest ending at 6-2, 6-4.

Dushanova was even more precise against Aly Neidlinger, putting the highly talented Pilgrim away, 6-1, 6-0. "Aly is a high quality opponent and it was a good match," Dushanova said. "To advance to the regional is really exciting for us as a team."

Jaffee could have included his No. 3 player, Avryl Klich, in his comments. The three singles players have lost only one match all year (Dushanova lost to Maureen Modesto) but many thought that Plymouth's undefeated junior, Jordin Youst, would give Klich a battle. Youst held up her end of the bargain early, winning the first game but Klich's power soon put the match away, 6-1, 6-3.

The Klich-Youst match got to be intense and ended up requiring a line judge to help with the close calls. "This was really a mental match," Klich said. "We had some disputes and I'm really happy we got the line judge. Really, I think having the line judge was to my benefit. Winning this regional is really a big deal for us. I'm happy to be here as a senior."

"I think Avryl got a little rattled there at the start," Jaffee said. "But she buckled down and played her game. She is the better player."

With the match notched in CGA's victory column, Plymouth won at No.1 doubles while the Academy won the No. 2 doubles match.

Pilgrim coach Neil Hunter said what everyone who saw the contest already knew. "Tonight, Culver Academy just played better than us."

First regional crown since '82 for CGA

By Paul Dendiu
Pilot Sports

SOUTH BEND - Culver Academy girls tennis coach Jarin Jaffee wasn't sure when the Eagles last won a regional title.

After what transpired Wednesday, he didn't really care.

CGA defeated Plymouth 4-1 at Leeper Park to capture the school's second regional championship and advance to the LaPorte Semistate this Saturday.

For the record, the Eagles (15-1) claimed their only other regional in 1982.

"We have great girls and they deserve this," Jaffee said. "We were trying to convince them that it was just another match, but it's not. It's a rival. Plymouth is usually better than us and this year we happened to show we were better than them."

As has been the case for the majority of the season, Culver Academy swept all three singles matches without dropping a set. Top player Lora Dushanova won the final 10 games in her 6-1, 6-0 win over Aly Neidlinger and Romina Clemente held off Aubrey Shanks for a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 2.

"I've never played on a team. I've had a lot of competition back home (in Florida), but I didn't have to think about winning for a team," said Clemente, who improved to 18-0.

"Knowing that I have the support of everyone helps a lot. I love the team and to make it this far with them is so much fun."

Liz Kinsey and Claire Strebinger pulled out a tight win at No.

 2 doubles, edging Jessica Foust and Erin Dunning 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). Plymouth's Steph Welch and Heidi Keiser prevailed in straight sets at No. 1. They'll meet Marian's Brittany Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Pyszka at Clay High School in the individual doubles competition today at 4:30 p.m.

The No. 3 singles match between Jordin Youst and Avryl Klich was contentious throughout. A couple arguments over calls forced a line judge to be requested on the court with Klich leading 5-1 in the first set.

Klich broke Youst for the set in the next game - which went to four deuces - and took four of the first five games in the second. Youst staged a slight rally, but Klich held at love to close it out. Klich didn't lose serve the entire match.

"I think it was really a mental match. We had a few disputes. I think the line judge was to my benefit," she said. "We haven't had this type of season in a long time. Winning the regional is a pretty big deal for us."

It was especially meaningful for Jaffee, who is leaving the Academy to take a teaching position in Ohio next year.

"I've been with the school for four years. There are some kids I'm really close to in this (senior) class. It's nice to go out on a winning note," he said. "We're really happy to make it to Saturday. Semistate hasn't been in the Culver Academy vocabulary for a little while, but hopefully this will be the first of several years that it is."

CULVER ACADEMY 4, PLYMOUTH 1
At Leeper Park
Regional finals
SINGLES: 1. Lora Dushanova (CA) beat Aly Neidlinger 6-1, 6-0; 2. Romina Clemente (CA) beat Aubrey Shanks 6-2, 6-4; 3. Avryl Klich (CA) beat Jordin Youst 6-1, 6-3.
DOUBLES: 1. Steph Welch-Heidi Keiser (P) beat Maia Tountcheva-Katie Capron 6-1, 6-1; 2. Claire Strebinger-Liz Kinsey (CA) beat Jessica Foust-Erin Dunning 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Records: Culver Academy 16-1, Plymouth 17-2.