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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Bouncing back from a loss to Tippecanoe Valley in their home opener Tuesday, the Rochester girls tennis team routed visiting LaVille 5-0 at the RHS courts Wednesday.
The Lady Zs lost only two games total in the five matches.
Singles winners included Ella McCarter, who blanked Sydnee Miller 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1; Taylor Howard, who beat Hanna Girst 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2; and Rylee Clevenger, who handled Lorelei Carey 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3.
Doubles winners included Audrey Bolinger and Chloe Nichols, who improved to 5-0 with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Cloie Davis and Meghan Menting at No. 1; and Sophie McCall and Abriella St. Martin, who knocked off Sacchy Demiar and Lilly Higley 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2.
“I believe they were excited,” Rochester coach Adrian Paulik said when asked about playing one day after a loss. “We saw LaVille at our invite (at John Glenn) on Saturday, so we knew what we were getting ourselves into. I told them before the match to just play to their skill level and just take this match as an advantage to them to just work on everything we’ve been working on in practice.”
Paulik said she coaches her players to seek weaknesses in their opponents and to try to exploit them.
“I think in tennis, especially our varsity one, two and three singles, that’s just going to depend on the opponent and how they’re playing,” Paulik said. “We try to teach them to find their weakness and play off that to their advantage. If their opponents’ weakness is those tricky shots, they’re going to try to play those wins rather than get consistent volleys back and forth.”
Rochester also won the JV match 4-1.
The Lady Zs’ match at sectional rival North Judson scheduled for Thursday was rained out and rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. April 26. Rochester has a road match against Triton Monday and home matches against Peru Tuesday and Whitko Wednesday to begin Three Rivers Conference play.
RESULTS: ROCHESTER 5, LAVILLE 0
Singles
Ella McCarter (RHS) def. Sydnee Miller (LV), 6-0, 6-0
Taylor Howard (RHS) def. Hanna Girst (LV), 6-2, 6-0
Rylee Clevenger (RHS) def. Lorelei Carey (LV), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
Audrey Bolinger-Chloe Nichols (RHS) def. Cloie Davis-Meghan Menting (LV), 6-0, 6-0
Sophie McCall-Abriella St. Martin (RHS) def. Sacchy Demiar-Lilly Higley (LV), 6-0, 6-0
JV RESULTS: ROCHESTER 4, LAVILLE 1
Singles
Vivian Miller (RHS) won 8-2.
Savannah Wolters (RHS) won 8-6.
Natalia Pittman (RHS) lost 8-0.
Doubles
Lakodah Clevenger-Addison Sutton (RHS) won 8-1.
Isabel Dunwoody-Emma Murphy (RHS) won 8-2.
