June 12, 2006
Netters finish fourth at
state
INDIANAPOLIS - It wasn't the ending they had hoped
for, but what a run it was.
The Plymouth High School doubles tennis team of Erin Dunning and Heidi
Keiser and Culver Girls Academy singles player Romina Clemente each lost
their two matches at the IHSAA state tournament Saturday afternoon. Even
so, they finish the year as the fourth best in the state in their
respective divisions.
“They lost two (Saturday), but it was a great year; pretty amazing,”
said Plymouth head coach Brad Haeck, who saw the tandem of the
now-graduated senior Dunning and senior-to-be Keiser finish with a record
of 25-3 for the season.
The only other loss was to Northridge, but Dunning and Keiser avenged that
defeat by knocking off the Raiders' duo in their other meeting this
spring.
For Clemente, it was the only two losses of the year for the junior-to-be,
who finishes 21-2.
“She is a great player and I have a lot of
confidence in her,” said Academy head coach Alan Loehr. “She has a lot
of mental toughness for a 10th grader.”
The PHS doubles team may have spent all of its energy in the semifinal
match, one that took nearly three hours to complete. All of the matches
were played indoors at the Indianapolis Racquet Club due to a steady rain
in the morning.
After Plymouth won the initial set, Carmel's pair eked out the second,
7-5, to set up a third and final set with the match in the balance. And
how close was the deciding set? In nine of the 10 games, both teams had
game-point opportunities.
“It seemed like every game went to deuce,” said Haeck. “In a match
like that, one point can make a huge difference. It was about as close as
it could get.”
The final set ended up 6-4 in Carmel's favor, but was 3-3 at one time.
Since the semifinal match went so long, Plymouth
had less time to rest than its opponents from Terre Haute North before the
finals.
“Erin and Heidi were so drained - mentally and physically - from that
first match,” Haeck added. “Then to come back in less than an hour is
tough to do.”
They may have been riding some leftover adrenaline as they took an early
3-2 lead in the first set of the consolation match, but then lost 10 of
the last 11 games.
In a way, the Plymouth doubles team was the party crashers and was not
only representing the community, but the entire state. All three of the
other doubles teams were from the tennis-crazed Metropolitan
Interscholastic Conference (MIC).
“And I think we could have beaten any of them,” Haeck said without
hesitation. “We played good against Carmel and not so good against Terre
Haute. A few points here and there and who knows? It just says a lot about
Erin and Heidi and our program in general.”
After playing second fiddle last year to standout Lora Dushanova, Clemente
made quite a splash in her first year as the No. 1 player for CGA.
Eventual state runner-up Hayley Hall was very impressive in her
straight-set win over Clemente in the semis, but it looked like the CGA
soph was going to do the same to her opponent in the consolation.
Clemente used her powerful serve and hit some great angles to quickly take
the first set, 6-2, but then Nina Bezvina of Merrillville came charging
back.
“(Bezvina) was very steady in the second and third sets,” commented
Loehr. “She really stepped up her mental game and hit solid
groundstrokes. It was really good tennis from both players.”
The second set was tied at 3 when Bezvina reeled off three of the next
four games to force a third set. In that, Clemente came out very strong
and quickly held a 2-0 advantage, but Bezvina fought back to win the next
three.
The turning point may have been in the sixth game. With Clemente serving,
the game went to deuce four times before Bezvina broke to win her fourth
consecutive game. Clemente starting finding the angles again though, and
pulled even at 4, then 5-all.
Bezvina held serve and leading 6-5 jumped out to a
40-0 lead in the 12th game. Clemente fought back to 30-40, but a forehand
went long to end the comeback bid and the match.
“The only thing Romina could have improved on was her shot selection at
key times,” concluded Loehr. “It was a high quality match.”
Just one of the many that CGA and Plymouth fans witnessed in 2006 from the
respective fourth place finishers in the state.
2006 IHSAA STATE TENNIS
DOUBLES FINALS
At Indianapolis Racquet Club
Finals
Becca Porter - Melanie Sullivan (Center Grove) defeated Jenny Auda -
Stacey Evans (Carmel) 6-3. 7-5; Katie Clagg -Molly Williams (Terre Haute
North) defeated Erin Dunning -Heidi Keiser (Plymouth) 6-4, 6-0.
Semifinals
Jenny Auda - Stacey Evans (Carmel) defeated Erin Dunning - Heidi Keiser
(Plymouth) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; Becca Porter - Melanie Sullivan (Center Grove)
defeated Katie Clagg - Molly Williams (Terre Haute North) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
2006 IHSAA STATE TENNIS
SINGLES FINALS
At Indianapolis Racquet Club
Finals
Tiffany Welcher (Clarksville) defeated Hayley Hall (Delta) 6-1, 6-1; Nina
Bezvina (Merrillville) defeated Romina Clemente (Culver Academy) 2-6, 6-3,
7-5.
Semifinals
Tiffany Welcher (Clarksville) defeated Nina Bezvina (Merrillville) 6-1,
6-1; Hayley Hall (Delta) defeated Romina Clemente (Culver Academy) 6-3,
6-2.