FORTVILLE — By winning three of four head-to-head matchups in the championship round of Friday’s Hancock County Girls Tennis Championships at Mt. Vernon High School, New Palestine put an end to Mt. Vernon’s streak of county titles at 12.
For the Dragons, it was their first title since 2009. Mt. Vernon had won 12 straight tournaments. There was no tournament, due to the pandemic, in 2020.
“We’ve been aiming for this the last couple of years for these girls to get a county championship,” New Palestine coach Jean Graham said. “That’s been one of their goals.
“We had six seniors in 2020 and I had Megan Long (now playing at Anderson University) who was probably the best singles player out there. The season got canceled because of COVID. I think we would have done well that year. I lost six seniors and had to rebuild the program up again, so it’s taken a little bit. We’re going to lose four good seniors (after this season), but we have several girls in the pipeline that aren’t quite as good as (the varsity) right now, but they’re not far behind.”
New Palestine edged Mt. Vernon 26-23. Greenfield-Central was third with nine points. Eastern Hancock scored two.
Each team has a player in one of the five flights, No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles.
Teams were awarded three points for first-round wins. Two points for consolation victories and four points for winning a championship.
Mt. Vernon won all five of its first-round matches. New Palestine went 4-1. The Marauders were up 15-12 heading into the consolation and championship rounds. New Palestine picked up two points in a consolation contest, cutting the margin to one, 15-14.
“(Mt. Vernon) had the edge,” Graham added. “They had won all five rounds and we had won four out of five. We had a little ground to gain and fortunately we were able to do that.
“My assistant coach Shelby Hall said it best, she said, ‘The girls never quit and they never backed down and probably played their best tennis all season.’”
New Palestine senior Olivia Hasenkamp (at No. 1) and sophomore Kaitlyn Mitchell (at No. 2) won singles titles. Hasenkamp won the No. 2 singles title last year.
Hasenkamp beat Mt. Vernon’s Regan Ralstin 6-1, 6-1 in the championship match.
Ralstin was playing in place of sophomore Kylie Brandes, the defending No. 1 singles champion and an all-stater during her freshman season. Brandes was unable to play in Friday’s tournament.
New Palestine’s third title came at No. 1 doubles.
Bethany Blachly and Jo Harvey defeated Mt. Vernon’s Carmen Lugo and Kim Joubert 6-3, 7-5. It was the final championship match to be completed and it secured the Dragons first championship in 14 years.
Mt. Vernon’s Maria Downs, who defeated New Palestine’s Courtney Johnson in three sets in the semifinals, won her championship match at No. 3 singles over Madison Succaw of Greenfield-Central, 6-1, 6-2. Johnson, who had not lost this season until the match against Downs, picked up two points with a consolation win.
The Marauders won at No. 2 doubles. Addy Lockwood and Sophie Maxwell defeated New Palestine seniors Maddy Potter and Alyssa Kauchak 6-1, 6-4.
“They were determined and gave everything they had. Mt. Vernon played tough, they are certainly a real good team. We were fortunate to be the winner … We’re pushing each other to get better,” Graham added.
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2023 Hancock County Girls Tennis Tournament
Team scores: New Palestine 26, Mt. Vernon 23, Greenfield-Central 9, Eastern Hancock 2.
Finals results
Singles
No. 1: Olivia Hasenkamp (NP) def. Regan Ralstin (MV) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: Kaitlyn Mitchell (NP) def. Ava Lusby (MV) 6-4, 7-5
No. 3: Maria Downs (MV) def. Madison Succaw (G-C) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1: Bethany Blachly/Jo Harvey (NP) def. Carmen Lugo/Kim Joubert (MV) 6-3, 7-5
No. 2: Addy Lockwood/Sophie Maxwell (MV) def. Maddy Potter/Alyssa Kauchak (NP) 6-1, 6-4
