BROWNSTOWN
Tied at 2-2, the No. 1 singles victor would decide if Brownstown Central would pick up its first victory of the season Thursday while facing Austin.
That spot, held by freshman Laken Reynolds, would go to the Braves after a hard-fought two-set match that lasted two hours.
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In Reynolds’ first set she was able to establish an early 3-2 lead before dropping a pair of games to go down 4-3.
Reynolds was able to break the Eagles’ Kaylin Carter serve before taking a 6-5 lead.
The final game saw multiple deuces on Reynolds’ serve, but she emerged victorious at 7-5.
From then on, Reynolds was in complete control, amassing a 3-0 lead before winning the second set 6-2.
At No. 2 singles, Brownstown senior Brooke Hattabaugh quickly ousted Bekah Raichel 6-3, 6-0.
A final point for the Braves was tallied at No. 3 singles, as Claire Smith defeated Kami Owens 6-3, 6-2, in Smith’s first appearance in a singles match for the Braves this season.
“The girls just played to win and were able to get out some points there,” Braves coach Erik Standland said. “Our three singles players all came out and played well. They fought through some difficult points but got it. It’s a nice thing to see. We played a slightly different lineup tonight, but it was good to see that we recovered in those spots.”
The Braves No. 1 doubles tandem of Caylen Fortino and Jenny Runge fell to Holli Reynolds and Ro Blaylock 6-0, 6-0.
Ally Temple-Guthrie and Maddie Jones dropped their No. 2 doubles match for the Braves to Skyler Coomer and Beth Harbold 6-1, 6-1.
In the past, the Eagles have given the Braves tough matches.
“The difference between this year’s team and last year’s team, with this match especially, is that the girls didn’t think they couldn’t win,” Stangland said. “Last year that was the case. We have only beaten Austin a couple of times since I’ve been here, and this team went out and knew nothing but to go out and win.”
With the victory, the Braves move to 1-2 on the season and 1-1 in Mid-Southern Conference play.
“We needed this win,” Stangland said. “We’ve had 2-3, 2-3 and 3-2 matches now. The ones we lost were in three set games. It was nice to see a freshman taking on upperclassman and taking charge of her match.”