Memorial Tennis Ousted In Semistate, Grubb Advances
FORT WAYNE – The Elkhart Memorial tennis team came up just short Saturday in its bid for a trip to the State Finals.
No. 18 Carroll edged past the Crimson Chargers 3-2 in the Homestead Semistate.
Carroll, now 20-2, advances to play Jasper in a quarterfinal match at State on June 3. Memorial, which advanced to State two years ago, ends its season at 14-5.
Memorial star singles player Krystal Grubb continued her outstanding season by remaining undefeated Saturday. The junior improved to 25-0 on the season at the No. 1 spot with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win. Grubb, who is now 62-9 in her prep career, advances to continue playing in the individual portion of the state tournament series for No. 1 singles players who are unbeaten in the postseason.
The Crimson Chargers’ also got a win from Taylor Freedline. The senior won at No. 2 singles to end her season at 20-2.
The deciding point came at No. 2 doubles as Carroll pulled out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win to earn the victory. The Chargers also won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 singles and 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles. The Carroll No. 1 doubles team is now 25-0 on the season and their No. 2 pair is 22-3.
Memorial sidelined No. 9 Fairfield 3-2 Wednesday night in the Elkhart Regional final to advance to the semistate. The No. 1 doubles team of Layla Jojo and Maggie Dickerson won 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5) for the clincher over the Falcons, who were a State Finalist in 2015.
Grubb defeated Fairfield star Emily Mast Wednesday in a classic clash of the top two singles players in Elkhart County. Grubb, who had not beaten Mast in two previous high school matches or in a handful of offseason tournament events, won 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4).
Mast, who had never lost a high school match to anyone in Elkhart County prior to Wednesday night, finishes her brilliant career at 96-7. The Fairfield standout, who will play at the University of Toledo, was 23-2 this season. Mast advanced to the State Finals as an individual as both a freshman and a sophomore and led her team to the State Finals her junior season.