BENTON —
Thursday afternoon’s girls tennis matchup between visiting Northridge and Fairfield featured two defending sectional champions — the Raiders winners of their own Northridge Sectional a year ago, and the Falcons champions of the Goshen Sectional.
Fairfield got the better of the nonconference matchup between ths two schools this season, winning 4-1 on a pleasant spring afternoon at Fairfield.
With a young team this season — just three returning players with varsity experience — Fairfield coach Mike Filburn has been looking to solidify the rest of his lineup early in the 2012 season.
The Falcons took some steps toward doing that in their win over the Raiders, Filburn said.
“I’m pleased that we won the meet, of course,” Filburn said. “But I’m more pleased with how we won it.” Filburn said. “We were qwuick on our feet, and we were aggressive.”
No. 1 singles player Haley Bechtel and No. 1 doubles tandem Kaelin Bender and Nicole Murdock are the three returning experienced Falcons.
One of the newcomers who has been coming along nicely is freshman No. 2 singles player Lauren Streit, who earned a straight-sets 6-1, 6-1 win over Northridge’s Courtney Clark on Thursday afternoon.
After dropping the first game of the first set, Streit said she settled down — something she has been working on early in her high school tennis career.
“You can’t get down on yourself early in a match,” Streit said.
As a freshman on the varsity, Streit said she feels some pressure to step up and perform. But she feels she;’s handling that pressure just fine so far.
Streit is off to a 2-1 record, while the Falcons improved to a perfect 3-0 on the young season.
Fairfield returns to action on Saturday at the Plymouth Invitational. Northridge travels to Homestead tonight.
Fairfield 4, Northridge 1
Singles
No. 1 — Sarah Smith (N) def. Haley Bechtel 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
No. 2 — Lauren Streit (FF) def. Courtney Clark 6-1, 6-2.
No. 3 — McKenzie Hochstedler (FF) def. Sam Harkrider 6-3, 6-0.
Doubles
No. 1 — Kaelin Bender-Niole Murdock (FF) def. Olivia Erekson-Ashley Owens 6-2, 6-1.
No. 2 — Mary Shipley-Leah Wimmer (FF) def. Amy Stoffel-Kate Ahonen 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
Record: Fairfield (3-0) travels to the Plymouth Invitational on Saturday.
JV: Tied 1-1.
Sports
Related Photos
-
Northridge No. 2 doubles player Kate Ahonen hits a return during a match against Fairfield Thursday afternoon. DAVID VANTRESS
-
Fairfield No. 1 singles player Haley Bechtel stretches to hit a return during a match against Northridge Thursday afternoon at Fairfield. DAVID VANTRESS
GIRLS TENNIS: Falcon netters top Northridge
Fairfield stays perfect, continues to grow with dominant 4-1 win.
- Sports
-
-
PREP GIRLS SOFTBALL: Repeat Raiders
In a near repeat of the two regular season meetings, the No. 2 ranked Northridge Raiders and the unranked Concord Minutemen locked up in a close championship contest of the Class 4A high school girls softball sectional Friday night at Warsaw.
-
PREP BASEBALL: Raiders, Blue Blazers advance
Northridge and Elkhart Central notching victories was not surprising.
-
2013 INDY 500: Munoz, Daly take different paths to Indy
Carlos Munoz’s initiation to Indianapolis went relatively smoothly.
-
PREP BOYS TRACK AND FIELD: State tickets punched
The Goshen Redskins made the long trip to Kokomo on Thursday night for the IHSAA boys track and field regional and brought home a regional championship and a runner-up finish.
-
PREP SOFTBALL: Falcons win first sectional title
With two of the area’s top pitchers squaring off Thursday night in the championship game of the Class 3A Lakeland Sectional between Lakeland and Fairfield, the margin for error figured to be very small.
-
NBA PLAYOFFS: LeBron saves Heat at buzzer of Game 1
LeBron James made a layup as time expired in overtime, and the Miami Heat found a way to beat the Indiana Pacers 103-102 in a wild Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night.
-
PREP SOFTBALL: Raiders, Minutemen in 4A final
Considering that all the teams in the Class 4A Warsaw sectional are members of the NLC, except for one, it’s not a great surprise that a pair of league teams will square off for the championship of the high school girls softball sectional.
-
PREP GIRLS TENNIS: Raiders dominate
The suspense at Wednesday’s Northridge Regional girls tennis finals didn’t last very long.
-
NFL: Bears LB Urlacher announces his retirement
Brian Urlacher wasn't sure how dominant he could be any longer, so he's calling it a career after 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears.
-
PREP GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD: On to the state meet
Concord, led by double winner junior Jessica O’Connell, finished fourth in the team standings in the IHSAA girls track and field regional Tuesday night at Warsaw.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
