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There are a couple of sure things come every Spring.
Taxes come due and the South Bend Saint Joseph's and Penn girls' tennis programs will be among the best in the area and into the state tournament series.
Those two facts should ring true again in 2025.
The Huskies will look to reload for coach Bill Mountford after posting a 22-1 mark a season ago that culminated with a state championship. St. Joe, which has been a state finalist each of the past four seasons, won the program's third state title in 2024. The title came after state runner-up finishes to Carmel in both 2023 and 2021.
The Huskies did lose three key pieces from their stellar, experienced squad that downed Fishers 3-2 in the state championship match. Gone are the trio of stars Molly Bellia, Ashi Amalnathan and Dani Graham from the lineup. The ********* helped the Huskies go 77-9-1 the past four seasons.
Bellia, now at the United States Naval Academy, was one of the area's top players ever. The sweet southpaw earned All-American honors in 2024 to go with All-State accolades and her fourth straight Northern Indiana Conference MVP selection. Bellia went 26-3 at No. 1 singles a year ago and was the No. 1 singles state champion as a freshman in 2021. She was the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner following her team's state title win and finished with 103 career wins.
Ashi Amalnathan was 29-0 at No. 2 singles and now plays at South Carolina State. Amalnathan teamed with her younger sister Anni to claim the state title at No. 1 doubles in 2022 with an 18-0 record. Graham went 25-4 at No. 1 doubles a season ago.
The cupboard though is far from bare for the Huskies. Senior Anni Amalnathan returns after posting a 28-1 mark at No. 3 singles. Also back is star sophomore Libby Yergler, who was 25-4 at No. 1 doubles, along with sophomores Ella Michaels and Anna Walsh, who went 12-12 at No. 2 doubles.
Penn will try to duplicate a long postseason run from a year ago while also competing with St. Joe in the NIC. The Kingsmen capped a 13-7 season in 2024 with a 3-2 loss to Carroll in the semi-state.
Penn will count on senior Aileen Hu to lead the way. Hu was 16-6 at No. 1 singles in 2024. Kingsmen freshman Olivia Wu will also be one to watch this season.
NorthWood, Northridge and LaPorte all won sectional titles in 2024.
The Panthers finished a 15-5 campaign with a 3-2 loss to Penn in the regional final. NorthWood lost a strong senior class from last year that included top singles player Britton Jesse and its state finalist No. 1 doubles team of Emery Porter and Kaydence Dumka, who were 26-3.
NorthWood will be led by the senior duo of Tatum Evers and Maggie Steiner. Evers posted a 22-4 mark at No. 2 singles in 2024, and Steiner was on a No. 2 doubles team that went 20-6.
Northridge finished 12-5 a season ago and lost 3-2 to NLC foe NorthWood in a regional semifinal match.
LaPorte won another sectional title, its ninth straight with a 4-1 win over New Prairie in the title match, before a 5-0 loss to St. Joe in the regional final. The Slicers, who were 17-4 a season ago, will be led by Brooklyn James. The senior enters her fourth season at No. 1 singles for coach Don Varda's LaPorte squad.
The pairings show by the IHSAA for the state tournament series is May 19 at a time to be determined. Sectionals are May 20-24, regionals May 27-28, semi-states May 31 and the state finals June 6-7.
Area sectional hosts are Saint Joseph, Penn, LaPorte, NorthWood, Concord and Culver Academy. Regional sites are at LaPorte, NorthWood and Culver Academy. The semi-states are at Culver Academy and Homestead. The state finals are at North Central High School in Indianapolis with the quarterfinals June 6 and the semifinals and title match on June 7.
Here is a look at a quartet of teams to watch for this season.
The Huskies were perfect versus Indiana teams a season ago. Their lone loss came to Sacred Heart Academy from Kentucky early in the season.
"We lost a lot through graduation from last year's state championship team, but we have some very good players returning starting with Anni Amalnathan," said Saint Joseph coach Bill Mountford. "We'd very much like to win the Northern Indiana Conference again this year but we know Penn will be a very tough matchup. It's a bit difficult to see where we might fit in when looking at the entire state landscape but having four returning starters from a state championship team means we have players that have experience and have performed under state championship pressure."
The Huskies, in addition to the four returnees from its state finals lineup, also welcome in promising freshman Coco Burfien.
The Kingsmen will look to contend for more hardware in 2025.
"Our thoughts remain the same year to year as we hope to be conference champions and sectional winners," said Penn coach Eric Bowers. "We will have some new faces this year, but they have been working really hard for them to earn their spot."
Penn will also count on returnees Ava Derby and Jaanavi Kaushik.
The Panthers will look to contend once again in the Northern Lakes Conference with the likes of Warsaw and Northridge.
"We are blessed with 30 girls this year.," said NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz. "Each one brings their own energy to the team, and it has been a pleasure to work with them. We are still trying to get a lineup made but feel we are getting closer with each good weather day. Even though we lost several players from last year, we had a solid JV team that went 15-1 with 34 girls. Any time we can be in the top 4 of the NLC is a team win."
NorthWood will also rely on seniors Neleh Steiner, Hannah Yoder and Ava Martin, along with juniors Emily Uhlmann and Eden Wiggins and sophomore Jillian Engbrecht.
The Raiders will be led by returnees like seniors Catherine Miller, Sage Granberg and Ava Schrock and junior Elaina Duthie.
Coach Judy Pollock's squad in Middlebury will also rely on juniors Ana Zmuda, Stella Judd, Samantha Wensel, Lidea Shell and Gwen Mellott and sophomore Jade Snyder.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Perennial powers St. Joe and Penn headline the area girls tennis teams
Continue reading...
Taxes come due and the South Bend Saint Joseph's and Penn girls' tennis programs will be among the best in the area and into the state tournament series.
Those two facts should ring true again in 2025.
The Huskies will look to reload for coach Bill Mountford after posting a 22-1 mark a season ago that culminated with a state championship. St. Joe, which has been a state finalist each of the past four seasons, won the program's third state title in 2024. The title came after state runner-up finishes to Carmel in both 2023 and 2021.
The Huskies did lose three key pieces from their stellar, experienced squad that downed Fishers 3-2 in the state championship match. Gone are the trio of stars Molly Bellia, Ashi Amalnathan and Dani Graham from the lineup. The ********* helped the Huskies go 77-9-1 the past four seasons.
Bellia, now at the United States Naval Academy, was one of the area's top players ever. The sweet southpaw earned All-American honors in 2024 to go with All-State accolades and her fourth straight Northern Indiana Conference MVP selection. Bellia went 26-3 at No. 1 singles a year ago and was the No. 1 singles state champion as a freshman in 2021. She was the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner following her team's state title win and finished with 103 career wins.
Ashi Amalnathan was 29-0 at No. 2 singles and now plays at South Carolina State. Amalnathan teamed with her younger sister Anni to claim the state title at No. 1 doubles in 2022 with an 18-0 record. Graham went 25-4 at No. 1 doubles a season ago.
The cupboard though is far from bare for the Huskies. Senior Anni Amalnathan returns after posting a 28-1 mark at No. 3 singles. Also back is star sophomore Libby Yergler, who was 25-4 at No. 1 doubles, along with sophomores Ella Michaels and Anna Walsh, who went 12-12 at No. 2 doubles.
Penn will try to duplicate a long postseason run from a year ago while also competing with St. Joe in the NIC. The Kingsmen capped a 13-7 season in 2024 with a 3-2 loss to Carroll in the semi-state.
Penn will count on senior Aileen Hu to lead the way. Hu was 16-6 at No. 1 singles in 2024. Kingsmen freshman Olivia Wu will also be one to watch this season.
NorthWood, Northridge and LaPorte all won sectional titles in 2024.
The Panthers finished a 15-5 campaign with a 3-2 loss to Penn in the regional final. NorthWood lost a strong senior class from last year that included top singles player Britton Jesse and its state finalist No. 1 doubles team of Emery Porter and Kaydence Dumka, who were 26-3.
NorthWood will be led by the senior duo of Tatum Evers and Maggie Steiner. Evers posted a 22-4 mark at No. 2 singles in 2024, and Steiner was on a No. 2 doubles team that went 20-6.
Northridge finished 12-5 a season ago and lost 3-2 to NLC foe NorthWood in a regional semifinal match.
LaPorte won another sectional title, its ninth straight with a 4-1 win over New Prairie in the title match, before a 5-0 loss to St. Joe in the regional final. The Slicers, who were 17-4 a season ago, will be led by Brooklyn James. The senior enters her fourth season at No. 1 singles for coach Don Varda's LaPorte squad.
The pairings show by the IHSAA for the state tournament series is May 19 at a time to be determined. Sectionals are May 20-24, regionals May 27-28, semi-states May 31 and the state finals June 6-7.
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Area sectional hosts are Saint Joseph, Penn, LaPorte, NorthWood, Concord and Culver Academy. Regional sites are at LaPorte, NorthWood and Culver Academy. The semi-states are at Culver Academy and Homestead. The state finals are at North Central High School in Indianapolis with the quarterfinals June 6 and the semifinals and title match on June 7.
Here is a look at a quartet of teams to watch for this season.
Saint Joseph
The Huskies were perfect versus Indiana teams a season ago. Their lone loss came to Sacred Heart Academy from Kentucky early in the season.
"We lost a lot through graduation from last year's state championship team, but we have some very good players returning starting with Anni Amalnathan," said Saint Joseph coach Bill Mountford. "We'd very much like to win the Northern Indiana Conference again this year but we know Penn will be a very tough matchup. It's a bit difficult to see where we might fit in when looking at the entire state landscape but having four returning starters from a state championship team means we have players that have experience and have performed under state championship pressure."
The Huskies, in addition to the four returnees from its state finals lineup, also welcome in promising freshman Coco Burfien.
Penn
The Kingsmen will look to contend for more hardware in 2025.
"Our thoughts remain the same year to year as we hope to be conference champions and sectional winners," said Penn coach Eric Bowers. "We will have some new faces this year, but they have been working really hard for them to earn their spot."
Penn will also count on returnees Ava Derby and Jaanavi Kaushik.
NorthWood
The Panthers will look to contend once again in the Northern Lakes Conference with the likes of Warsaw and Northridge.
"We are blessed with 30 girls this year.," said NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz. "Each one brings their own energy to the team, and it has been a pleasure to work with them. We are still trying to get a lineup made but feel we are getting closer with each good weather day. Even though we lost several players from last year, we had a solid JV team that went 15-1 with 34 girls. Any time we can be in the top 4 of the NLC is a team win."
NorthWood will also rely on seniors Neleh Steiner, Hannah Yoder and Ava Martin, along with juniors Emily Uhlmann and Eden Wiggins and sophomore Jillian Engbrecht.
Northridge
The Raiders will be led by returnees like seniors Catherine Miller, Sage Granberg and Ava Schrock and junior Elaina Duthie.
Coach Judy Pollock's squad in Middlebury will also rely on juniors Ana Zmuda, Stella Judd, Samantha Wensel, Lidea Shell and Gwen Mellott and sophomore Jade Snyder.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Perennial powers St. Joe and Penn headline the area girls tennis teams
Continue reading...
