Staff report
TROY — The Lehman girls tennis team competed Tuesday in the Division 2 Sectional Tournament, and one golfer, Sarah Gibson, lost in the match to qualify for the district tournament.
That represented the farthest a Lehman girls tennis player has made it in the last three seasons.
Gibson won her first match against Liz Dunn of Springfield Shawnee, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, then beat Sidney Tillman of Springfield Catholic 6-0, 6-0. She then beat Brittanie Massie of Northwestern 6-2, 6-4 before losing to second-seeded Laura Bowen of Brookville 6-1, 6-1.
Also in singles, Claire Larger lost to Natalie Milligan of Greenville in her first match 6-1, 6-4, and Melanie Brunner lost to Hannah Fugate of Milton 6-1, 6-0.
The doubles team of Sarah Kramer and Allison Briggs lost their first match to the top-seeded team of Alexis Stewart and Ladia Coning of Tipp City 6-1, 6-0. And the Lehman team of Ann Pennaparra and Angela Brunner lost to a Springfield Catholic duo 6-3, 7-5.
“We had a good sectional tournament,” said coach Tim Ungericht. “Sarah Gibson played really well. She got to the match to qualify for district and lost to a senior. Claire had her chances to get to the third set against a solid Greenville girl who won the GWOC Silver Tournament last week.
“Our season record may not reflect it but our girls team took a step in the right direction this year,” he continued. “Our numbers grew from seven girls to 11, and we had a great addition to the team and program with Claire Larger transferring from Fort Loramie. We lose two seniors but next season we will have Claire and Sarah back at first and second singles, and Kiera Burns back at third singles, where she split time with Sarah Kramer. All three of those girls will be juniors. Our first doubles team of Melanie Brunner and Alex Read will return and will be seniors. Angela Brunner will return and will be a sophomore, with her second doubles partner Ann Pennaparra, who will be a junior. We will have lots of experience and are set up to have a strong season next year.”
