Hobart hangs tough

Updated: May 18, 2011 11:00PM

HOBART — Hobart’s Reena Childers admitted she made a mistake in her No. 1 singles match with Merrillville’s Kelsey Sajdera.

Luckily, the Brickies’ senior didn’t have to pay for it.

After cruising past Sajdera to win the first set 6-1, Childers didn’t maintain her intensity and found herself in a real battle with Sajdera in the second set, but still emerged with a 7-6 win (7-5 tiebreaker) to win the match in straight sets, while helping Hobart to a 4-1 win over the Pirates in the opening round of the Hobart Tennis Sectional on Wednesday.

“I think I got just a little too relaxed after winning 6-1,’’ Childers said. “I think I kind of eased up a little bit. I shouldn’t have done it, but I did.’’

When Childers found herself headed into the tiebreaker she was determined to end the match and not head into a third set.

“I relied on my consistency at that point,’’ she said. “If I had the shot, I would go for it.’’

Childers, who played at second singles last year, is now 11-6 overall heading into today’s championship match against Boone Grove at 4 p.m.

The Wolves (3-7) beat winless Andrean (0-13) in the other semifinal match and advanced to their first sectional title match.

Hobart coach Karen Blaauw said she wasn’t really concerned about Childers’ match going the other way.

“Reena is the one person I can count on all the time,’’ she said. “Somehow, she always finds it in herself to pull things out when we need the point. Her and Sabrina (Millsap at No. 3 singles) are my two most stable and mentally focused players. They’re out there to compete.’’

Millsap endured a tough first set against Merrillville’s Melanee Stubbs, winning 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) before winning the match by posting a 6-1 win in the second set.

“I think the key for me was trying to keep Stubbs away from the net as much as possible,’’ Millsap said. “After I pulled away a little bit in the second set (at 4-1), I thought to myself: ‘Let’s get off the court.’ I saw (Stubbs) and she played really well at the net, so I hit it deep so she couldn’t come to the net. I tried to aim for the corners a lot.’’

The Brickies (8-9) swept singles play as No. 2 Ashley Kilgore defeated the Pirates’ Morgan Lamb, 6-1, 6-3.

Hobart’s No. 1 doubles team of Stephanie Bachmann and Jennifer Syjut won a marathon opening set against Merrillville’s Allison Varela and Lea Neligan, 7-6 (7-2 tiebreaker), before posting a 6-1 win in the second set.

“We got off to a rough start at first, but we definitely picked it up,’’ Bachmann said. “We knew where to place our volleys.’’

“We adjusted our pace, our volleys and placement and reduced our errors,’’ Syjut said. “We just stepped it up. We focused on how we were playing and where they were playing in counteract it.’’

Blaauw liked the way Bachmann and Sygut finished their match.

“They played great second set,’’ she said. “Their strength is their net game. When they get the volleys right, they’re good, but when they play defensively on their volleys they get into trouble. Both of them are excellent at taking the ball out of the air.’’

Taking the air out of Boone Grove coach Dave Paupp after his team’s win over Andrean would have been tough.

The second-year Wolves coach experienced a natural high after his team survived and advanced.

“We’re late-bloomers,’’ Paupp smiled. “We had trouble at the beginning of the season, because they hadn’t played or even touched a racquet for 10 months during the offseason. Now, they’re starting to come alive and they’re getting their timing down. For a small school, it’s good for the kids to be in the sectional championship match.’’

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