Springs’ McMinn wins at No. 1, Eagles win county
Published 6:42 am Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Indian Springs is down this year in tennis, but received a boost Friday when sophomore Erin McMinn swept the No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles competition to help carry her team to a second place finish in the Shelby County Tennis Tournament at the Pelham Tennis Center.
McMinn beat Samantha Peters from Oak Mountain, 6-3, 6-1, in the No. 1 singles final, as doubles partner Grace Pittman beat Oak Mountain’s Katie Gould, 6-1, 6-1 to help Springs edge Thompson and Pelham for second. The Springs duo entered their singles finals fresh off a doubles semifinal win over Peters and Kaitlyn Burgin from Oak Mountain, 10-6.
“I was kind of worried about (playing Samantha) because I’ve seen her at tournaments around. I guess I just played better since we had beaten them in doubles. I was like I can do this,” McMinn said.
While the singles wins were a key part of Springs’ second-place finish, the match that clinched it was the No. 1 doubles final against Thompson.
“Our coach (Boo Mason) had told us that if we won this match then we would get second in the tournament and that was motivation,” McMinn said.
The two took the first set 6-2, but allowed Thompson’s Lauren Faulkner and Michelle Chase to battle back to force a second set tiebreaker, which Springs won 8-6.
Mason was right. With the win Springs edged Thompson with 27 points to the Warriors’ 23. But a loss would have put Thompson ahead, 26-24.
However, no team was able to match Oak Mountain, who rolled through the tournament with 44 points to claim the county title.
The Eagles clinched first place with wins by Kourtney Sipin and Burgin at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Samantha Fredrick also won at No. 6, remaining undefeated at that position this season.
First-year Eagles head coach Ashley Morgan credits the win to team’s persistence.
“They fought for so many matches even matches that came down to a 10-8 win or tiebreaker. They fought and never gave up,” Morgan said.
With a 4-4 record on the year, Morgan hopes the tournament win will give her team confidence as it approaches sectionals later this month.
“I think we can go in there and aim to beat Spain Park, Hoover and Homewood and then we’ll shoot for the stars and play our best against Vestavia and Mountain Brook,” Morgan said. “We can win against those teams when we go into sections, and I think this gave us that boost of confidence not only to play well but to finish well.”
TEAM RESULTS
1. Oak Mountain (OM) – 44 points
2. Indian Springs (ISS) – 27 points
3. Thompson (THOM) – 23 points
4. Pelham (PEL) – 22 points
5. Chelsea (CHEL) – 3 points
6. Shelby County (SC) – 0 points
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
No. 1 SINGLES
Round One
Meike Groothuizen (CHEL), bye
Erin McMinn (ISS) def. Brianna Waller (SC), 10-0
Samantha Peters (OM) def. Lauren Davis (PEL), 10-7
Lauren Faulkner (THOM), bye
Semifinal
McMinn (ISS) def. Groothuizen (CHEL), 10-0
Peters (OM) def. Faulkner (THOM), 10-7
Final
McMinn (ISS) def. Peters (OM), 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 SINGLES
Round One
Grace Pittman (ISS), bye
Michelle Chase (THOM) def. Brandi Quick (SC), 10-0
Katie Foley (PEL) def. Callie Smothers (CHEL), 10-3
Katie Gould (OM), bye
Semifinal
Pittman (ISS) def. Chase (THOM), 10-0
Gould (OM) def. Foley (PEL), 10-5
Final
Pittman (ISS) def. Gould (OM), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 SINGLES
Round One
Erin Hautter(THOM), bye
Sarah O’Neal (ISS) def. Jessica Rasco (SC), 10-3
Kourtney Sipin (OM) def. Amy Miller (CHEL), 10-0
Samantha Travis (PEL), bye
Semifinal
Hautter (THOM) def. O’Neal (ISS), 10-4
K. Sipin (OM) def. Travis (PEL), 10-10, 8-6
Final
K. Sipin (OM) def. Hautter (THOM), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 SINGLES
First Round
Catherine Schmitz-Drager (ISS), bye
Sidney Garner (PEL) def. Kaylyn Billingsley (SC), 10-0
Macy Hendrix (THOM) def. Brittany Sipin (OM), 10-7
Victoria Heart (CHEL), bye
Semifinal
Garner (PEL) def. Schmitz-Drager (ISS), 10-2
Hendrix (THOM) def. Heart (CHEL), 10-2
Final
Garner (PEL) def. Hendrix (THOM), 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 SINGLES
First Round
Maria Siow (THOM), bye
Mary Margaret Barr (ISS) def. Taylor Guin (SC), 10-1
Kerri Flynn (PEL) def. Braden Thacker (CHEL), 10-1
Kaitlyn Burgin (OM), bye
Semifinal
Barr (ISS) def. Siow (THOM), 10-6
Burgin (OM) def. Flynn (PEL), 10-4
Final
Burgin (OM) def. Barr (ISS), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 SINGLES
First Round
Vivian Delchamps (ISS), bye
Courtney Farish (THOM) def. Kirsten Hyatt (SC), 10-0
Samantha Fredrick (OM) def. Callen Young (PEL), 10-8
Alex Carpenter (CHEL), bye
Semifinal
Farish (THOM) def. Delchamps (ISS), 10-1
Fredrick (OM) def. Carpenter (CHEL), 10-0
Final
Delchamps (OM) def. Farish (THOM), 6-4, 6-2
No. 7 SINGLES
First Round
Andrea Mayo (ISS), bye
Anna Manning (OM), bye
Cara Speegle (PEL) def. Katie Ford (THOM), 10-2
Carrie Van Der Geest (CHEL), bye
Semifinal
Manning (OM) def. Mayo (ISS), 10-2
Speegle (PEL) def. Van Der Geest(CHEL), 10-2
Final
Manning (OM) def. Speegle (PEL), 6-4, 6-4
No. 8 SINGLES
Semifinal
Liz Hardin (THOM) def. Audrey Vickers (CHEL), 10-0
Leisha NeSmith (OM) def. Katie Kema (PEL), 10-1
Final
NeSmith (OM) def. Hardin (THOM), 6-0, 6-1
No. 1 DOUBLES
First Round
Lauren Davis/Samantha Travis (PEL), bye
Lauren Faulkner/Michelle Chase (THOM) def. Brianna Waller/Brandi Quick (SC), 10-2
Erin McMinn/Grace Pittman (ISS) def. Meike Groothuizen/Braden Thacker (CHEL), 10-1
Samantha Peters/Kaitlyn Burgin (OM), bye
Semifinal
Faulkner/Chase (THOM) def. Davis/Travis (PEL), 10-2
McMinn/Pittman (ISS) def. Peters/Burgin (OM), 10-6
Final
McMinn/Pittman (ISS) def. Faulkner/Chase (THOM), 6-2, 6-6 (8-6)
No. 2 DOUBLES
First Round
Katie Gould/Brittany Sipin (OM), bye
Erin Houtter/Maria Siow (THOM) def. Jessica Rasco/Kaylyn Billingsley (SC), 10-0
Katie Foley/Sidney Garner (PEL) def. Callie Smothers/Amy Miller (CHEL), 10-3
Sarah O’Neal/Catherine Schmitz-Drager (ISS), bye
Semifinal
Gould/Sipin (OM) def. Houtter/Siow (THOM), 10-4
Foley/Garner (PEL) def. O’Neal/Schmitz-Drager (ISS), 10-0
Final
Gould/Sipin (OM) def. Foley/Garner (PEL), 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 DOUBLES
First Round
Kerri Flynn/Callen Young (PEL), bye
Victoria Heart/Alex Carpenter (CHEL) def. Taylor Guin/Kristen Hyatt (SC), 10-3
Kourtney Sipin/Anna Manning (OM) def. Mary Margaret Barr/Vivian Delchamps (ISS), 10-2
Mary Hendrix/Courtney Farish (THOM), bye
Semifinal
Flynn/Young (PEL) def. Heart/Carpenter (CHEL), 10-1
Sipin/Manning (OM) def. Hendrix/Farish (THOM), 10-3
Final
Sipin/Manning (OM) def. Flynn/Young (PEL), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 DOUBLES
First Round
Cara Speegle/Katie Kema (PEL), bye
Andrea Mayo (ISS)/Eunyong Jo (OM), bye
Liz Hardin/Marissa Bolling (THOM) def. Carrie VanDerGeest/Audrey Vickers (CHEL), 10-3
Leisha NeSmith/Ashley Kennedy (OM), bye
Semifinal
Speegle/Kema (PEL) def. Mayo (ISS)/Jo (OM), 11-10
NeSmith/Kennedy (OM) def. Hardin/Bolling (THOM), 10-3
Final
Speegle/Kema (PEL) def. NeSmith/Kennedy (OM), 6-0, 4-6, 11-9