Saturday, the Blackford Tennis team traveled to Kendallville to participate in the East Noble invitational. It was a great day of tennis against incredibly tough competition and the Bruins showed improvement across the board.
1 Singles Jordan Elliott and 3 Singles Kobe Peden picked up nice wins against South Bend Riley, their first varsity singles wins of their careers. Both showed improved confidence and mental focus. Scott Thompson also defeated East Noble at 2 singles in a come from behind victory in which he came back from being down 4-6, 0-3 to win in a 3rd set tiebreaker. He also was down 4-8 in tiebreaker before coming back to win 11-9. Coach Murray stated, “I was extremely proud of all three singles players today!”
Both doubles team battled hard against extremely talented teams. Stephen McGahey and Blake Thiery came up just short against both DeKalb and Blackhawk Christian after holding leads late in both matches. Zach Tarr and Kerigan Reynard played the best they have this season, showing increased focus and footwork, especially in their match to Blackhawk Christian in the 2nd round.
Considering the strength of the competition, the fact that the Bruins were able to pull off three victories today was something to be proud of, considering the Bruins only gained one victory in the same tournament last season. The Bruins will take this positive momentum as they prepare for sectionals at Marion this Wednesday.
Singles (Jordan Elliott):
Finished: 6th/8
Lost 0-6, 2-6 vs. Blackhawk Christian
Won 7-5, 6-1 vs. South Bend Riley
Lost 0-6, 0-6 vs. Dekalb
2 Singles (Scott Thompson):
Finished: 6th/8
Lost 0-6, 0-6 vs. Bishop Dwenger
Won 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 vs. East Noble
Lost 0-6, 0-6 vs Blackhawk Christian
3 Singles (Kobe Peden):
Finished: 6th/8
Lost 6-7, 0-6 to New Haven
Won 6-0, 6-0 to South Bend Riley
Lost 1-6, 0-6 to Blackhawk Christian
1 Doubles (Stephen McGahey & Blake Thiery):
Finished: 8th/8
Lost 1-6, 1-6 to East Noble
Lost 5-7, 1-6 to DeKalb
Lost 6-8 to Blackhawk Christian
2 Doubles (Zach Tarr & Kerigan Reynard):
Finished: 8th/8
Lost 1-6, 0-6 to Bishop Luers
Lost 4-6, 2-6 to Blackhawk Christian
Lost 2-8 to East Noble
