BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington North dominated singles while sweeping past Bedford North Lawrence 5-0 in the opening round of the IHSAA tennis sectional at North on Tuesday.
The Cougars dropped only one game in singles while advancing to the semifinal round against Edgewood.
North’s Nicholas Shirley conquered Graham Turner 6-0, 6-0 at No.1 singles, Esteban Crespo stopped Isaac Bridges 6-0, 6-1 at No.2, while Connor Shinn decked Orion Hill 6-0, 6-0 at No.3.
BNL’s most competitive court was No.2 doubles. North’s Seth Force and Krishil Patel pulled out a first-set tiebreaker en route to a tough 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 win over Nate Pemberton and Carter Kimmel. The Cougars also won at No.1 doubles as Casey McIntyre and Brady Murphy edged Jayden Kemp and Drew Stephenson 6-1, 6-2.
“It’s always tough to lose the final match that ends the season,” BNL coach Chris Kurtz said. “The seniors played especially hard tonight, and played great. Nate and Carter were in a fight all evening and well after the other matches had ended. It was an awesome tournament environment with teammates from both schools cheering every point. All three seniors left it all out there, and can be very proud their efforts. We’re going to miss them.’
BNL bowed out with a 5-16 record.
“It was a really good year of growth and skill development,” Kurtz said. “We have a lot of young players, and the future is bright. The guys need to get out and hit thousands of tennis balls between now and next season, and I think many are motivated to do it.”
IHSAA SECTIONAL
First round at Bloomington North
BLOOMINGTON NORTH 5, BNL 0
Singles
1 Nicholas Shirley d. Graham Turner 6-0, 6-0
2 Esteban Crespo d. Isaac Bridges 6-0, 6-1
3 Connor Shinn d. Orion Hill 6-0, 6-0
Doubles
1 Casey McIntyre and Brady Murphy d. Jayden Kemp and Drew Stephenson 6-1, 6-2
2 Seth Force and Krishil Patel d. Nate Pemberton and Carter Kimmel 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
