Prep roundup for Wednesday, Aug. 18

Aug. 17—Northwestern's boys tennis team kicked off its season with a 5-0 victory over Carroll on Tuesday at Flora.

No. 1 singles player Blake Wise and the No. 1 doubles team of Clayton Griswold and Ethan Kearney set the tone for the Tigers with 6-0, 6-0 wins.

In addition, Ian Woods was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at No. 2 singles, Hudson Whaley was a 6-1, 6-0 winner at No. 3 singles and A.J. Burkhalter and Hayden Cook took a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles. For Woods, Whaley and Cook, it was their first varsity wins.

"It was great to start our season off with a win and work some of those first-match jitters out," Northwestern co-coach Matt Woods said. "Some guys got experience at positions with [projected No. 1 singles player Aurel Vonzun] sitting out due to a shortage in practices. Things are always a little different when you stop playing against each other. All positions were dominant we just got a little wild at times trying to over hit. Definitely had the opportunity to see some things we need to work on."

KOKOMO 5, FRANKTON 0

Kokomo improved to 2-0 with the road win.

In singles play, Caleb Taflinger was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at No. 1, Andrew Guerre was a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 winner at No. 2 and Kyan Gamble won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3.

In doubles play, Eric Swain and Ari Leger rallied for a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 1 and Alan Dockemeyer and Canaan Horner won 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 at No. 2. For Swain and Horner, it was their first varsity wins.

"I loved our fight," Kokomo coach Travis Taflinger said. "We just kept grinding and clawing away and fought through some tough moments. We did not play our best tennis and have a lot of work to do, but I do love the grit we are building.

"Eric Swain and Ari Leger flipped a switch halfway through the match and really played well. Alan Dockemeyer and Canaan Horner stuck together and grinded out a tough match. Our three singles players really played smart, solid tennis. We need to keep improving and build up our skills in practice."

VOLLEYBALL

WESTERN 3, KOKOMO 0

Kieli Fogg served 31 points and dished 17 assists to lead the Panthers past the Kats 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-11) on the Kats' floor.

Kenna Smith (12 kills) and Lacy Rathbun (10 kills) led the Panthers' attack. Linsay Guge served 15 points. Defensively, Kenzie Broman stuffed eight blocks, Guge had 20 digs and Rathbun had 10 digs.

Western improved to 2-0, with both victories coming on the road against North Central Conference teams.

"It was a great atmosphere," Western coach Jessica Oliver said. "So proud of the way our team is coming together. These girls are fun to watch."

NW 3, WABASH 1

Northwestern topped visiting Wabash 27-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18 for a 1-0 start to the season.

McKenna Layden led the Tigers with 23 kills, 17 digs, seven service points and five blocks. Tori Closson had 17 digs and 14 points. Lexi Closson dished 24 assists and served six points. Anna Bishir had 12 digs and nine points. Aliviah Sullivan contributed four kills and three blocks.

"This was a great game by both teams," NW coach Kathie Layden said. "Wabash always has an extremely well-coached team. Very competitive aggressive plays and a fantastic atmosphere for the girls to play in. Definitely the best student section I have ever seen at a Northwestern volleyball game since I have been here.

"Lexi Closson, in her first varsity game as our setter, really played well, and McKenna was pretty consistent and showed quite a bit of power at times. Absolutely a team win as all played a large role to get the win."

S'WOOD 3, EASTERN 0

Eastern fell on the road at Southwood as the Knights scored a sweep (25-15, 25-16, 25-19).

"We fought hard, but we struggled a little with self-doubt. We improved each set but came up short. This team is young and determined, however, and I believed we learned a lot from this match," Eastern coach Liza Flanary said.

Audra Flanary led the Comets' offense with six kills and Kenzie DeGraff had four kills. Jenna Odle served 14 points. Shelby Rice led the defensive effort with 16 serve receives and Audra Flanary had 13 digs.

BOYS SOCCER

KOKOMO 8, EASTERN 0

Kokomo got a pair of goals each from Seokmin Son and Ryunosuke Tokunaga, and single strikes from Ben Herrera, Nicolas Zela, J.P. Gonzalez and Jean Marc Boyance. Gonzalo Martin had two assists and Herrera, Zela, Gonzalez, Caden Polk and Gavin Zimmerman one each. Joey McConnel had two saves for the Kats (1-1).

"I thought we got, obviously, contributions from several players in terms of scoring," Kokomo coach Aaron Blessing said. "We seemed to play a little bit more composed and creative than our first match, so we're evolving, and we had some players playing in a few different places that I thought made us play a little bit quicker."

Isaac Horner had 15 saves for the Comets in their season opener.

"The game gave us a good idea of where we are and what we need to work on," Eastern coach Todd Stout said. "It was several of our younger players' first game and it will take a few games to catch up to the speed of the game. This was a building block game for us."

WEST LAF. 7, NW 1

No. 3-ranked West Lafayette beat No. 19 Northwestern in a matchup of Class 2A top 20 teams on the Tigers' turf.

Quentin Yeakel scored the Tigers' goal.

BOYS XC

NW COMBO MEET

Northwestern won its annual combination meet. Scores and official times were not immediately available after the meet.

Northwestern coach Josh Perry called the victory "a total team effort." The combo meet features three different 3K races — Nos. 5-6-7 runners in the first race, Nos. 3-4 runners in the next race and Nos. 1-2 runners in the final race — and is scored by the cumulative times for teams' top five finishes.

"We had PRs for nearly everyone and it came down to the wire," Perry said. "We only edged out Pioneer by 6 seconds. Maconaquah ran a great race as well. This season is going to be a lot of fun battling with the local teams. We have a lot of talent in the area and that's great to see.

"Everyone ran the race we needed to win, but I have to specially mention sophomore Declan Aaron. He ran a giant PR in the first boys race of the night and got the team excited. He had some help at the start from Matthew Mitchell and really took off at the end of the race."

Eastern was led by Obi Greene and Kamp Miller finishing 10th and 12th, respectively, in the 1-2 race.

GIRLS XC

NW COMBO MEET

The host Tigers finished third with Hannah Moore winning the Nos. 1-2 race. Scores and official times were not immediately available after the meet.

"Every girl on the team had a PR. You can't ask for anything more than that as a coach," Perry said. "We need to focus on getting healthy these next few weeks, but I was very impressed with [the season debut]. We are going to have a very strong team once we reach full strength.

"I want to give special kudos to our 3 and 4 runners, Katelyn Saul and Bella Winrotte. Katelyn ran a huge PR and Bella really stepped up as a freshman in a fast race."

GIRLS GOLF

ROCHESTER 176, WESTERN 196

Western's Elizabeth Mercer shot a 39 and won medalist in the match at Round Barn G.C. Ava Williamson (45) and Natalie Nutt (47) followed for the Panthers.