Providence Defeated Cross Town Rival Clarksville

Providence defeated Clarksville 3 – 2 in a very close match on Monday. Providence wins came at 3^rd singles and both doubles.

Number 1 and 2 singles players of Stephanie Smith and Kady Bandy played good close matches in losing efforts. Stephanie lost to a very strong opponent 2-6, 2-6. Kady lost in the longest match of the 4-6, 2-6.

Freshman Megan Jaoby won 6-3, 6-4, she played a very strong second set, playing very good tennis.

Senior Emily DiNoto and junior Courtney Murphy won 6-1, 6-2. This was quickest match of the day after having the longest match in their previous outing.

Junior Hanna Gish and sophomore Hillary Ernstberger won 7-5, 6-4 in a somewhat off day for this duo.

Reserve player Natalie Sisson won 8-1.

This was a good win over a strong sectional opponent.

Providence defeats Manual 5 - 0

The Pioneer's defeated Manual High School of Louisville, KY 5 – 0. The team was lead by number 1 singles player junior Stephanie Smith. She won 6-3, 7-5 over Sophia Brown. Stephanie played a very good match and was very focused, in the second set she fell behind 5 – 4 and rallied to win the last three games.

Senior Kady Bandy won 6-3, 6-1 over Ali Wright. Kady played an outstanding match in very windy conditions that really affected her game.

Freshman Megan Jakoby rallied in the first set to win 6-4 and an outstanding second set to win 6-1. Megan played one of her better matches of the season in defeating Casey Blair.

The number one doubles team of Emily DiNoto and Courtney Murphy had the longest match of the day lasting near three hours. They lost the first set 4-6 and rallied to win the second set in a tie breaker (7-5), they came out and played an outstanding third set with extremely aggressive play and good serving to win 6-2.

Number two doubles team of Hanna Gish and Hillary Ernstberger, rallied to win the first set and had strong performance in the second set to win 6-4, 6-4 over Molly Makela and Madison Fante. They played very strongly and were able to accomplish what assistant Scoot Gurgol suggested during side switches.

It was most like the best five matches as a team, everyone played outstanding tennis on a very hot and windy day. I was pleased to see how the players were able to rally after falling behind.

The girls also were able to have some fun during the day.

Pioneers win Austin Invitational

Providence won the Austin Invitational Girls Tennis Tournament on Saturday, winning four of the five championships losing only at the third singles position.

Junior Stephanie Smith led the team winning 6-1, 6-0 against Sara Hutton of Scottsburg and 6-3, 6-4 against Hannah Wahmer of Austin. Smith had excellent matches against strong first singles players. Stephanie had a great day and played solid tennis for the team. She is 2 and 1 on the season.

At second singles senior co-captain Kady Bandy won 6-0, 6-0 against Megan Edwards of Austin and 6-2, 6-1 against Holly Stewart of Scottsburg. In the four years that Kady has played for Providence this was the best two matches she has played in a tournament. She went out on the court first (in her first match) and was off the courts very quickly with a strong performance. She is 5 and 1 on the season.

Junior Sammie Riggs was the only loser for Providence dropping her first match 3-6, 0-6 to Katie Birch of Scottsburg and 0-6, 1-6 against Shawnee Bayes of Austin. Sammie had many good points and the scores don't indicate how well she played during the tournament.

The first doubles tandem of senior co-captain Emily DiNoto and junior Courtney Murphy easily won their first match 6-2, 6-2 over the senior doubles team of Katie Trueblood and Amanda Mundan of Scottsburg. In the final match of the tournament they out distanced the Austin team of Lisann Goodin and Shantel Gray 6-4, 6-4. They played solid tennis and had some very good games. They are 5 and 1 on the season.

The second doubles team of junior Hanna Gish and sophomore Hillary Ernstbeger won 6-3, 6-1 against Brittany Neace and Sidney Neace of Austin and won a long match against Bonsett and Donovan of Scottsburg 6-4, 6-4 in their final match. This team continues to improve as a doubles team and their individual skills are also improving. They are 5 and 1 as a team.

Overall it was a very good day. Anytime you can go into a tournament and win 4 of the 5 first places you have done very well. It is very easy to just have a bad match along the way and the girls just did not let this happen. It was very rewarding to see that none of the winners had a three set match.

Providence Ties for New Albany Invitational Title

On Saturday, April 11^th the Providence Girls Tennis Team Tied Christian Academy of Indiana for the New Albany Invitational title. Providence was the only school in the tournament with two first place winners.

Left to Right; Freshman Megan Jackoby (1st place 3 singles), Senior Captain Kady Bandy (1st place 2 singles), Junior Stephanie Smith, Junior Hanna Gish, Junior Courtney Murphy (2nd place 1 doubles), Senior Captain Emily DiNoto (2nd place 1 doubles) and Coach Vince DiNoto, not pictured Sammie Riggs and Hillary Ernstberger.

Junior Sammie Riggs played first singles due to the injury to Junior Stephanie Smith. This was Sammie's first varsity competition and she gave a valiant effort in her three matches, though she did not win any of the her matches her TEAM effort was extremely important to the success the team in the tournament.

Senior Kady Bandy avenged a loss at two singles in the finals against Christian Academy (she had lost in a dual match earlier in the week). In the finals she split sets and won the super tie breaker which counted as the third set. Kady had two very good matches earlier in the tournament winning each of them with the first one won at 6-0, 6-0. Kady's record stands at 3 and 1. Kady received the 1^st Place Trophy for 2^nd singles.

Freshman Megan Jakoby, playing third singles, also avenged her only loss of the young season in the finals against another Christian Academy competitor. Megan dominated the match from the beginning and played her best match of the season. In the semi-finals she was pushed to a three set match (super tie break for the third set), she lost the first set and was down in the second before a super come back and a domination in the tie breaker. Megan's record stands at 3 and 1. Megan received the 1^st Place Trophy for 3^rd singles.

The number one doubles team of Junior Courtney Murphy and Senior Emily DiNoto, also reached the final and played Christian Academy number one doubles team. The team lost a tough straight set match to a team they had defeated in a close match earlier in the week. Their record is 3 and 1. They received the 2^nd Place Trophy for 1^st doubles.

The number two doubles team of Hanna Gish and Hillary Ernstberger lost their opening match to New Albany in three set (losing the super tie breaker). They played a very good first set, but the New Albany tandem won the second and the tie breaker for the third set. Their next opponents defaulted in the next match. Thus placing them in a match against Clarksville High School, Hanna and Hillary dominated the match scoring very important points for the team. Their record is 3 and 1.

Providence falls to Christian Academy of Indiana

On Thursday April 9, 2009, the Providence Girls Tennis Team lost their first match of the season to Christian Academy on their home courts at Community Park. The score was 3 – 2 in favor of the visitors with three of the five varsity matches going three sets. Three reserve matches were played with Providence winning all of them.

Junior Stephanie Smith lost in three sets, she started the match with a heavily taped leg and as the match continued her leg gave her sustained pain. In the third she made a gallant effort to come back but fell short 6-3, 5-7, 4-6.

Senior Co-Captain Kady Bandy lost in three sets in a match that lasted nearly three and one-half hours, with both a light rain and darkness setting in. The match had numerous games that lasted more than 10 minutes. 3-6, 6-3, 0-6

Freshman Megan Jakoby playing in her first varsity match lost in straight sets. 2-6, 0-6

Senior Co-Captain Emily DiNoto and Junior Courtney Murphy returned as a doubles team playing in the 1 doubles spot for the first time. They split sets and fell behind in the third 3-0 and 4-1 before winning five games in a row to close out the match. The final five games were highlighted by excellent winners by both Courtney and Emily. 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Junior Hanna Gish and Sophomore Hillary Ernstberger (playing her first varsity match) won in straight sets. Hanna had several excellent winners at net and Hillary played the very difficult add court. Both ladies played very good aggressive tennis. This was a great beginning for this new doubles team. 6-3, 6-4

In the reserved matches Junior Sammy Riggs won 8-1, Freshman Kara Garcia won 8-4 and the doubles team of Freshmen Maggie Bremmer and Kristin Simms won 8-5.