Columbus North girls tennis wins sectional championship

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      COLUMBUS, Ind. -- Winning in straight sets at four positions, the Columbus North girls tennis team claimed its seventh consecutive sectional championship on Saturday (May 19).

      Senior Allie Smith and freshmen Rosemary Yonushonis prevailed in singles, while seniors Rachael Miller, Melissa Sanders, Jaewon Jung and Julie Reece all triumphed in doubles as the Bull Dogs improved to 14-8 for the season and captured their 23rd sectional in the past 24 seasons.

      CN now advances to the Seymour Regional where it will face Bloomington South at 5 p.m. Tuesday (May 22). Seymour and Greensburg will play in the other regional semifinal. The regional final will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday (May 23).

      Jung and Reece got things going in the sectional final with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Columbus East's Amanda Hashimoto and Pooja Pandita at No. 2 doubles.

      Yonushonis defeated the Olympians' Risa Mineno 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3 singles, while Miller and Sanders beat East's Lauren Champion and Alexa Husman by the same score at No. 1 doubles.

      Smith knocked off the Olympians' Ashlee Hasson 6-2, 7-5 at No. 1 singles, while East freshman Megan Galle topped North senior Whitney Olibo 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.

      "Things went pretty much as we thought they would," CN coach Kendal Hammel said. "Allie's match was a little closer than I expected, but overall the girls did a good job and put themselves in a position to continue playing."

      Hammel said the regional opener with Bloomington South will be a challenge, noting his squad has lost two 3-2 matches to the Panthers.

     "They've gotten us twice, but both matches have been very, very close," he said. "We'll have to be prepared to play our best."

RESULTS

Columbus East Sectional

     Columbus North 4, Columbus East 1

     S1: Allie Smith (CN) d. Ashlee Hasson (CE) 6-2, 7-5

     S2: Megan Galle (CE) d. Whitney Olibo (CN) 6-0, 6-2

     S3: Rosemary Yonushonis (CN) d. Risa Mineno (CE) 6-2, 6-3

     D1: Rachael Miller / Melissa Sanders (CN) d. Lauren Champion / Alexa Husman (CE) 6-2, 6-3
     D2: Jaewon Jung / Julie Reece (CN) d. Amanda Hashimoto / Pooja Pandita (CE) 6-1, 6-0

Columbus North individual records

      Allie Smith, 14-7 at No. 1 singles

      Whitney Olibo, 9-11 at No. 2 singles and 1-1 at No. 3 singles

      Rosemary Yonushonis, 6-8 at No. 3 singles and 2-0 at No. 2 doubles

      Rachael Miller, 19-2 at No. 1 doubles

      Melissa Sanders, 19-2 at No. 1 doubles

      Jaewon Jung, 18-2 at No. 2 doubles and 1-1 at No. 2 singles

      Julie Reece, 20-2 at No. 2 doubles