INDIANAPOLIS —
Although the weather Friday afternoon at Lawrence Central was more typical of the first day of high school tennis practice than the first day of June, the girls from Terre Haute South were not fooled.
Even though they lost 5-0 to unbeaten, second-ranked Carmel in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament, the Braves were fully aware and appreciative about how different the season was since practice began nearly three months ago.
And, their coach indicated, it was too bad it had to end.
“We’re playing really well right now,” Bill Blankenbaker said after the match.
State-finals appearances in girls tennis are nothing new for the Braves; Maddie Kesler, who finished her South career Friday, has been in three of them herself, and South was the 2001 state champion in its third consecutive trip to the championship match.
It’s pretty safe to say, however, that those previous teams didn’t have to come quite as far to reach the finals.
“It’s been like a roller coaster,” said Madison Manning, the other senior in the South lineup on Friday when asked about this season. “I’ve never experienced so many different [doubles] partners, or so many different kinds of matches. And I never knew we could make it this far.”
“Those last two teams [that reached the finals in 2009 and 2010] were teams that were good at the beginning and expected to be good,” Kesler added.
The 2012 Braves? Not really that good at the beginning, probably not expecting to be. Less than a month ago they were still below .500, and their regular-season loss to rival Terre Haute North was every bit as one-sided as the 4-1 score indicated.
The shuffling and reshuffling of the lineup finally found one that clicked, however. Manning’s pairing with freshman Shivani Purohit was quickly a solid one, sophomore Nicole Howe joined junior Miranda Camp to become an all-district doubles team at the No. 1 spot, and junior Tabitha Fagg and freshman Jordan Davis replaced Howe and Purohit in the singles spots.
In their last 11 matches, the Braves lost just twice — to top-ranked Evansville Memorial and then to Carmel on Friday. They avenged their loss to North in sectional play and weren’t stopped after that — until going to Lawrence North in the half of the eight-team finals field that included Carmel, Memorial and fourth-ranked Penn.
They were realistic about their chances Friday, but that doesn’t mean the Braves didn’t battle.
“It was cold, and windy, and that added a lot of struggles,” said Manning after her match. “We knew this would be one of our toughest matches all year … but our team held up pretty good today. [Purohit and I] grew as a doubles team, and today was a good end to that.”
“[Reaching the finals this season] really wasn’t on my radar,” said Kesler, who led Carmel’s Bailey Padgett — the 2011 state runner-up — most of the second set before dropping the last three games. “I was fortunate to get to come back [to the finals]; everything was a bonus from the sectional on.”
“I did not expect to be here,” even Blankenbaker admitted, “but now I believe we should be here … I was plesed with the way the girls played; they didn’t lay down and they competed well with [the Greyhounds].
“We’ve had a good year and we’ve beaten some good teams,” the coach added. “This will make us hungry for next year.”
“I know I’ll never forget these people,” Manning said. “This was a very good season, very enjoyable.”
“I’m just happy it could end this way,” added Kesler. “I was fun to stay [at school, after seniors were dismissed a week ago] for an extra week.”
Carmel 5, Terre Haute South 0
Singles — Bailey Padgett (C) def. Maddie Kesler 6-0, 6-4; Mikeala Carlson (C) def. Tabitha Fagg 6-0, 6-0; Molly Fletchall (C) def. Jordan Davis 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles — Alaina Finkelmeier-Hayley Wild (C) def. Miranda Camp-Nicole Howe 6-3, 6-2; Hannah Elliott-Michelle Li (C) def. Madison Manning-Shivani Purohit 6-1, 6-2.
Next — Carmel (17-0) plays top-ranked Evansville Memorial (23-0) in a 10 a.m. semifinal today at Indianapolis North Central. South finished 14-8 and fourth-ranked Penn, which lost Friday to Memorial, finished 19-2.
High School
South tennis bows out of state finals
Braves drop match to Carmel in quarterfinal
- High School
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. -
South softball's power display earns Braves share of MIC
The fun that the Terre Haute South high school softball team had Saturday — including those five home runs — was all the result of the hard work the Braves had put in before the game, coach Dwayne Stout said after the game.
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Pirtle takes medalist, leads Sullivan to WIC title
Sullivan took team and individual honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys high school golf championships played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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Prep roundup: Patriots drop doubleheader to Carmel baseball
Host Terre Haute North saw its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball championship hopes suffer what was probably a fatal blow on Saturday as the Patriots lost a doubleheader to Carmel by scores of 8-7 and 11-8.
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Timely hits: After slow start, Terre Haute North rallies to beat Mooresville
No-hit through three innings, Terre Haute North’s bats came alive — especially Sam Wolf’s — just in time to rally for a 4-2 home victory over Mooresville in high school baseball Friday evening at Jennings Field.
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Linton’s Weber to coach at BNL
Bedford North Lawrence High School has announced that Steve Weber will be the Stars’ head coach for the 2013 season.
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Freshman group adds to Big Four teams' baseball tradition
The Terre Haute North-Terre Haute South high school baseball series wasn’t an inning old last week before T.J. Collett of the Patriots lashed a run-scoring single.
That hit helped the Patriots take a 2-0 lead, but in the top of the second inning a three-run double by Justin Jenkins sparked the visiting Braves to a four-run inning.
North tied the score in the bottom of the second inning, Collett driving in another run. And just before rain caused the game to be suspended, South called Logan Ames in from its bullpen for some solid pitching.
Not bad for a trio of freshmen. And the weekend hadn’t even started yet. -
Pairings drawn for high school softball sectionals
The IHSAA announced Thursday its pairings for the 2013 sectional softball tournament slated for May 20-25.
Regionals will take place May 28. -
North boys make it three consecutive Vigo County golf titles
Terre Haute North made it three in a row in Vigo County boys high school golf championship action Wednesday at Hulman Links.
The Patriots shot 161 to edge Terre Haute South with 165. West Vigo carded 222. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Wolf homers as North baseball wins 16th game
Terre Haute North erupted for seven runs in the third inning on its way to routing visiting White River Valley 14-1 in 41⁄2 innings of high school baseball Wednesday afternoon at Don Jennings Field.
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Northview's Carter strikes out 19 in 10-inning win against South Vermillion
Northview’s Taylor Carter and South Vermillion’s Daphne Dunegan locked into a 10-inning all-star softball pitching duel Tuesday night at Northview High School.
Unfortunately, one of them had to lose. -
PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP: South Vermillion 4-0 in WIC after 4-3 win at Northview
Jordan Branz won his ninth game of the season, scattering six hits over eight innings to lead South Vermillion to a 4-3 victory at Northview in a Western Indiana Conference battle.
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Thompson going into Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame
Former Terre Haute North High School standout Anthony Thompson is the newest member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
- More High School Headlines
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