ANDERSON — The Anderson Community Hospital Tennis Classic wrapped up over the weekend as the various divisions completed bracket play. With no fewer than five championships, many won in head-to-head fashion, the Lapel Bulldog tennis program reigned supreme for the week.
Incoming sophomore Jesse McCurdy led the Bulldog charge, pairing up with Lapel teammate Joseph Conrad to win boys varsity doubles as well as claiming the boys varsity singles title.
Conrad and McCurdy defeated Noah Wolfgang and Ross Hagen in an all-Lapel final of the varsity doubles division by a 6-1, 6-0 score. Despite the lopsided final score, McCurdy said the improved play of Wofgang and Hagen gives him plenty to look forward to with the coming high school tennis season.
“Thursday (July 13) was our first practice, and I was really impressed with Ross and the way his game has come along,” McCurdy said. “Today was fun, it was a great experience, and I’m really looking forward to tennis season with these guys.”
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McCurdy defeated Dane Hueston in the varsity singles final 6-2, 6-3 on Friday, July 14.
Conrad, the current No. 1 singles player at Lapel, advanced to the final of the men’s A singles, where he had to face his predecessor and former teammate, Garrett Fensler. The IU-Southeast sophomore prevented Conrad from picking up his second title of the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win.
In the girls varsity doubles final, Lapel seniors Lauren Benagh and Tonya Riffey made short work of the Pendleton Heights duo of Brielle Boynton and Claire Goodwin, 6-0, 6-1.
Lapel also picked up a title in one of the younger divisions as Jacob Erwin knocked off Landon Mathews 6-2, 6-0 to win the final in the boys age-12 singles division.
Lapel junior Julia Beeler also made a surprise run to the final of the girls JV singles tournament. She dropped a tough three-set match to Shenandoah freshman and No. 1 seed Morgan Nation, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6. Beeler jumped out to a 4-1 lead on her way to claiming the first set but was unable to hold the momentum as Nation started picking up her game.
“I was pretty good at the beginning and had a good feeling,” Beeler said. “But she started winning in the second set, I got upset about it and my head wasn’t all the way in it.”
Several local players had good results in the consolation bracket after being ousted earlier in the week. Pendleton Heights alum Katie Urbanski and Amy Urbanski won the final of the mother-daughter doubles consolation with a 6-1, 6-0 victory versus Audrey Gaines and Holly Gaines-Jones.
Lapel senior Maddie Shannon won a pair of consolation finals, knocking off Pendleton Heights senior Bailey Davis 7-6, 6-1 in the varsity singles division and pairing up with Billie Davis to rout Theresa Magenheimer and Kennedy Weber 6-0, 6-1 in the women’s A doubles group.
Wolfgang knocked off Seth Moore in the boys varsity singles consolation final in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.