By SARAH COCHRAN, for the Brown County Democrat
The Brown County boys tennis team went on the road for its season opener, taking on longtime rival Indian Creek. The boys left the courts 2 for 5 overall, but not before some standout performances from underclassmen in the Aug. 14 match.
Chase Watson and Aiden Burt showed a desire to win at No. 1 and No. 2 singles with Watson’s first score, a dominating 6-0. Burt achieved his first varsity win as a freshman with a first score of 7-5. Both scored 6-4 in their second of three sets to win their matches.
Coach Kevin Roush stood by throughout the event, observing and offering words of encouragement to his team from outside the fence.
“For the first match, playing two freshmen at the varsity level, I thought we played pretty well,” he said.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]“We have some work to do — too many double faults, some unforced errors — but that’s to be expected with a young team, and I think I saw glimpses of some pretty good stuff to come.”
Of the 12 players on this year’s team, seven are new to high school tennis. Nevertheless, the match proved the underclassmen should not be underestimated.
According to Brown County senior Abe Oliver, it was the team’s mind-set that got in their way.
“I think that Indian Creek showed us where we need to improve and where we are pretty strong. I think that our biggest enemies tonight were ourselves and that our mental games really need to improve,” he said.
Still, Oliver has high hopes for the future of this year’s tennis team.
“I think that our returning players are really going to step up this year; but more importantly, our freshmen are jumping right in and seriously contributing to the team.
“I am excited to see what we can do in the future.”
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Date;Opp.;Time
Wednesday, Aug. 23; vs. Trinity Lutheran; 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 24; vs. Bedford North Lawrence; 5 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 26; Brown County Invitational; 9 a.m.
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Varsity: Aiden Burt (freshman), Nathaniel Fox (junior), Aaron McCann (sophomore), Abe Oliver (senior), Nolan Patterson (freshman), Elijah Roush (senior), Chase Watson (junior)
Junior varsity: Spencer Blee (freshman), Noah Cochran (freshman), Reid Davis (freshman), Ethan Maggard (sophomore), John Oliver (freshman)
Managers: Piper Boyer (sophomore), Cassidy Davis (sophomore)
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