Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

Coming off a tough week where they lost a couple of nail biters, the Western Boone girls tennis team was looking to right the ship on Monday night at Lebanon. The Stars were able to do exactly that against a short-handed Lebanon squad, winning 5-0 to secure third place in the conference. “I am really proud the way the girls played today, coming off a long week where we dropped a couple of close matches to conference opponents,” Western Boone head coach Colin Haney said. “It was good to end conference play with a win against a good rival.” The Tigers were without three regulars in their line-up due to injury and illness. At No. 1 singles, Izzy Adams topped Lana Haimova 6-2, 6-0. At No. 2 singles, Abby Brunty defeated Allie Niehaus 6-0, 6-0 and at No. 3 singles, Jade Strong topped Charlotte Kleindl 6-2, 6-1. At No. 1 doubles, Olivia Smith and Janie Ransom won 6-1, 6-4 over Beatrice Johnson and Anna Howard, and at No. 2 doubles, Grace Maners and Paige Anderson defeated Mya Nelson and Autumn Jones 6-4, 6-0. “With the losses last week, we knew we were kind of out of the running for the conference, so our focus began to shift,” Haney said. “We want to make sure we are ready for the sectional, so getting back in the win column and building some momentum was great.” The win by Smith and Ransom also gave them a perfect 7-0 record in conference, meaning they automatically get first-team all-conference honors. freestar “I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Haney said. “They both play with a ton of heart and grit. In my 11 years of coaching, I have never had a doubles team finish undefeated in conference, so this is a huge deal for them.” Lebanon travels to Covington on Thursday and Southmont on Friday. Western Boone hosts Covenant Christian on Tuesday and travels to International next Monday before the sectional. “We just need to work on some small fundamental things and make sure we clear those up,” Haney said. “If we do that, we will be in a good position in the sectional.” Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.