Miners defeat Owen Valley

Linton-Stockton started slowly, but finished strong as the Miners defeated host Owen Valley 4-1 in a high school boys tennis match Wednesday.

"At the start of the match, I thought we had picked up where we left off last night," said Linton-Stockton coach Brad McKinney, referencing a 5-0 loss to Vincennes Rivet. "We were pretty sloppy and were making a lot of unforced errors. It was just not a good start.

"But the kids really started to kick it in gear and woke up. We settled into a groove and started to play better. Again, we were up against a veteran line-up as they started six seniors. This was a good win for us."

Seth Herndon and Kris Shipman each prevailed in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. It was the first victory of the season for Herndon.

Chase Rhoten and Merrick McBride needed three sets to dispose of the Patriot duo of Randy Leintz/Bryan Redenbarger 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.

The No. 2 doubles team of Kyle Cooper and Luke Knight jumped to an early 4-1 lead and held on to win set one before winning six of seven games in the second set.

"Kyle and Luke really kicked it in gear in the second set," said McKinney. "Kris rolled off several games in a row. Kris came off first, then Seth and one doubles came off with a win within five minutes of each other to seal the victory.

"Chase and Merrick played like they left their rackets on the bus in the first set. Like the rest of the team, they really kicked it in gear in the middle of the second set. Then they cruised in the third set. Taylor (Sloan) had at tough first set at three singles, but played much better as he figured out his opponent in the second set."

The Miners (1-2 in dual matches and 3-4 in tournaments) will play Tuesday at North Central.

At Spencer

Varsity

Linton-Stockton 4, Owen Valley 1

Singles: Seth Herndon (L) d. Jordan Truax 6-3, 6-2; Kris Shipman (L) d. Jacob Crouch 6-2, 6-1; Raymond Amos (OV) d. Taylor Sloan 6-1, 6-4.

Doubles: Chase Rhoten/Merrick McBride (L) d. Randy Leintz/Bryan Redenbarger 1-6, 6-4, 6-1; Kyle Cooper/Luke Knight (L) d. Mike McHaley/Donovan Jones 7-5, 6-1.

Junior Varsity

Owen Valley 1, Linton 0

Doubles: Lonnie Terry/Quinn Wilson (OV) d. Ben Brown/Garrett Hollingsworth 8-2.

Varsity season records: Herndon 1-4; Shipman 3-3; Sloan 1-5; Rhoten 2-4; McBride 2-4; Cooper 4-2; Knight 4-2; Ben Brown 0-1.