On Prom day, the Eagles first enjoyed a “victory dance” on the tennis courts.
Delta dominated Shelbyville 5-0 on Saturday morning to put the finishing touches on its 12th consecutive Hoosier Heritage Conference girls’ tennis championship.
This is the longest streak of championships in HHC history for any sport, boys or girls. (In fact, the Eagles have won 23 of the past 24 HHC titles in girls’ tennis, failing to do so only in 2009.)
Overall, Delta has won 80 consecutive conference dual matches in girls’ tennis.
This one was never close as the Eagles limited the Golden Bears to just five games total. Iva Witter and Madelyn Haley were first off the court with a 6-0, 6-0 victory, followed a few seconds later by Janet Wegener and Maggie Hunt, also 6-0, 6-0 winners.
In singles, Gwendolyn Clark won 6-1, 6-0; Gabby Knight won 6-2, 6-1; and Brylee Beckley won 6-0, 6-1.
The JV team added a 12-2 victory. Three girls, Sam Diaz, Mackemzie Lipps and Hannah Swanson, all picked up their first victories of the season.
With the regular season completed, here is a recap of season highlights and records:
> Varsity record 14-4 overall, 7-0 in conference
> State ranking of No. 20
> Losses only to #1 Carmel, #14 Westfield, #15 Hamilton Southeastern and #15 West Lafayette (rankings at time of our match)
> Victories over #27 Oldenburg Academy, #29 Mt. Vernon, #30 Alexandria, Marion, Bishop Chatard, finished ahead of Bloomington North and Terre Haute North in invitational
> Finished second in the Crawfordsville Invitational, second in the Delta Invitational, and second in the Plymouth JV Invitational.
> Honored 25+ special teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day
> Honored 12 seniors on Senior Day. Recognized that all 12 seniors will attend college and that eight of the seniors rank among the top 18 in the class academic rankings. Announced that two seniors (Maggie Hunt and Madelyn Haley) have qualified for Academic All-State, the first time Delta has had two girls earn this honor in the same season.
> Raised more than $15,000 in SmashCancer match and honored dozens of past and current cancer patients
> The entire team combined to make a quilt for Delta junior Megan Hiday as she battles a rare and aggressive sarcoma
> Carried a roster of 35 girls, including 12 girls with little or no previous tennis experience.
Next up will be the postseason. The IHSAA will conduct the pairings at 7 p.m. Monday live on ihsaa.tv.
Delta will host the sectional on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
Varsity
Gwen Clark 14-7
Gabby Knight 16-5
Brylee Beckley 9-7 (including 8 of last 10)
Maggie Hunt 19-2
Janet Wegener 19-2
Madelyn Haley 15-4
Iva Witter 15-4
Kelsey Vest 3-1
Katie Alexander 3-0
Olivia Miller 1-2
Eden Richey 1-2
Lizzy Thomas 1-0
Hannah McDowell 1-0
Junior Varsity
Kelsey Vest 14-4
Katie Alexander 8-4
Caitlyn Kirby 15-4
Hailey Conner 14-4
Olivia Miller 8-4
Eden Richey 8-4
Rylen Jones 15-3
Emily Hayes 12-2
Lizzy Thomas 6-2
Hannah McDowell 9-2
Anna Cardemon 11-1
Ava Fallon 9-3
Sarah Haney 5-5
Emily Woodson 5-7
Carley Kitchens 3-6
Autumn Subler 5-6
Mariah Garrett 7-2
Grace Flowers 4-3
Carmen Maxwell 3-3
Maddy Cooper 4-4
Lani Anderson 4-6
Avery Barnes 4-2
Sara Longoni 2-7
Sam Diaz 1-8
Mackemzie Lipps 1-5
Hannah Swanson 1-6
Ashlynn Sparks 1-8
Ava McCully 0-7
Complete Results vs Shelbyville
Varsity Singles
- Gwen Clark won 6-1, 6-0
- Gabby Knight won 6-2, 6-1
- Brylee Beckley won 6-0, 6-1
Varsity Doubles
- Maggie Hunt/Janet Wegener won 6-0, 6-0
- Madelyn Haley/Iva Witter won 6-0, 6-0
JV Singles
- Kelsey Vest won 6-0
- Katie Alexander won 6-0
- Caitlyn Kirby won 6-1
- Hailey Conner won 6-1
- Ashlynn Sparks lost 0-6
JV Doubles
- Olivia Miller/Eden Richey won 6-0
- Rylen Jones/Emily Hayes won 6-0
- Ava Fallon/Anna Cardemon won 6-3
- Sarah Haney/Mariah Garrett won 6-0
- Carmen Maxwell/Grace Flowers lost 5-7
- Carley Kitchens/Maddy Cooper won 5-2
- Emily Woodson/Mackemzie Lipps won 6-3
- Avery Barnes/Hannah Swanson won 6-3
- Lani Anderson/Sam Diaz won 6-1