PREP GIRLS TENNIS: Goshen wins first team match of the season over Concord
Apr. 15—ELKHART — Goshen girls tennis coach Daniel Love was a bit surprised post-match.
After nearly two years away from competition, the RedHawks took on Concord in their first match of the season and played well. It wasn't perfect, but behind a three-set win from sophomore Mara Schrock over Concord junior Claire Steele in No. 2 singles play, Goshen edged a young but talented Minutemen squad 3-2 at Concord High School on Wednesday.
"We definitely exceeded my expectations today," Love said. "Concord's always strong. Their players usually play in the offseason, and they are very well coached. They know what they're doing, so we knew it'd be a tough way to start the season in a conference match against a team like Concord.
"I was thrilled with how we competed today. I wasn't sure we were going to pull it out, but I knew we were in all five matches. We were competing. We weren't shell-shocked; we were here to play. We gave ourselves a chance, and this time it came out in our favor."
In singles play, Goshen took two out of three matches from the Minutemen.
Senior Lucy Kramer showed why she's considered one of the area's best by opening the season with a two-set sweep over Concord senior Rylee Brenneman 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 1 singles spot.
The No. 3 singles match went to the Minutemen after a tight battle in the second set between Concord senior Maddie Copsey and Goshen junior Abril Diaz. Copsey dominated the first set and held on during the second to come out on top 6-1, 6-4.
In doubles play, Concord and Goshen each split a match to make it 2-2 with one match remaining on the courts. In the No. 1 doubles match, the RedHawks team of seniors Joya Drenth and Kathryn Detweiler swept the Minutemen's Kate Steele and Gracie Westlake 6-4, 6-3.
In the second doubles match, Concord sophomore Maggie Burkert and freshman teammate Addi May won the more competitive of the two doubles matches over Goshen's Sarah Harmelink and Tori Barkey 6-4, 7-5.
"No. 1 doubles started out a little slow, but then built a 5-2 lead," Love said. "They let it get back to 5-4 and usually at that point, I'd step in and talk to them to have them regroup. I didn't do that with them, because I wanted to trust their senior experience. Kathryn (Detweiler) has been playing doubles her entire career, so I trusted her and Joya (Drenth) to respond, and they did."
Detweiler and Drenth's sweep made it 1-0 Goshen early. Copsey's victory for Concord tied it at one all, followed by Kramer's win for Goshen and the Minutemen's doubles triumph for Burkert and May.
With the match deadlocked at 2-2, the only match to go to three sets on the day would determine who the winner would be.
Schrock and Claire Steele went back-and-forth in what was a highly competitive match throughout. Steele took the first set 7-5, then Schrock took advantage of some costly mistakes from Steele in the second set to win 6-3 and force a final frame.
Schrock jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but Steele stormed back to cut it to 3-2. Schrock would dominate the remainder of the set to win 6-3 and give her team the victory.
"We're very young," Concord coach Todd Denton said. "Claire said in the middle of the match that she wasn't used to playing in front of a crowd. She played very well, but these are learning experiences. We're going to take a few lumps at the beginning of the season to get better, but our goal is to get better each day so at the end of the season, we're playing our best tennis."
------
Goshen 3 Concord 2
No. 1 Singles: Lucy Kramer (G) def. Rylee Brenneman (C) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 Singles: Mara Schrock (G) def. Claire Steele (C) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 Singles: Maddie Copsey (C) def. Abril Diaz (G) 6-1, 6-4
No. 1 Doubles: Joya Drenth and Kathryn Detweiler (G) def. Kate Steele and Gracie Westlake (C) 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Doubles: Maggie Burkert and Addi May (C) def. Sarah Harmelink and Tori Barkey (G) 6-4, 7-5
