Historic victory for Jimtown

By GREG KEIM
greg.keim@goshennews.com

May 17, 2008 11:55 pm

— The motto on the backs of T-shirts won by Jimtown tennis girls says it all — “Our Year.”
The Jimmies made that a true statement by defeating the Fairfield Falcons 5-0 in the championship match of a sectional Saturday afternoon at Goshen Middle School.
It’s the first ever girls tennis sectional championship for Jimtown.
“This is unbelievable,” Jimtown coach Tim Courliss said. “Our year has been our logo all season and we pulled it through. It has a lot to do with the senior class. They were the ones who were determined to play when they were younger. All of their hard work has paid off.”
Fairfield coach Mike Filbrun said, “Jimtown is a solid team at all five positions. We were competitive with them and the 5-0 match score does not indicate how close the match really was.”
Jimtown defeated NorthWood 3-2 and Fairfield topped Bethany Christian 5-0 in the semifinals Saturday morning.
Jimtown (13-1) squares off with Westview in the Northridge regional Tuesday at 5 p.m. Northridge (15-1) meets Warsaw (7-6) in the other semifinal.Winners return for the championship Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Jimtown jumped out to an early lead as senior Jordan Nine and junior Ashley Springsteen defeated seniors Callie Beer and Kaci Stahly 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 doubles. The lead increased to 2-0 when Jimtown junior Brittany Stebbins (16-0 record) topped freshman Abbey Neff 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
Jimtown clinched the sectional hardware as senior Jessica George and sophomore Sarah DeShone (15-1) were 6-1, 7-6 (7-3 tie breaker) winners over junior Marla Yoder and Ashley Neff at No. 1 doubles.
“George and DeShone make a great doubles team,” Courliss said. “George has a a good knowledge of the game and DeShone in a great athlete. They have been one team to rely on this season.”
Jimtown senior Stephanie York defeated freshman Brooke Boyts 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.
“I told York after she lost the first set that if anyone could do this it was her,” Courliss said. “After that she turned things around. In the first set, Boyts was playing good and Steph (York) was missing some shots she normally hits.
“Boyts is a very good young player and I’m not looking forward to seeing her for three more years.”
Filbrun said, “Boyts played York tough. Boyts and Abbey Neff are freshmen in name only. The have tons of experience in summer tennis.”
Boyts finishes with a 15-4 record.
The No. 3 singles match was a 2:45 marathon as Jimtown junior Brianna Houghton outlasted senior Jennifer Strong 6-7 (2-7 tie breaker), 7-5, 7-6 (7-1 tie breaker).
“Houghton has played a lot of tough matches this year and the helped her win,” Courliss said. “Near the end of the match she was having trouble catching her breath. Then something clicked and she won the third set tie breaker easily.”
Fairfield finishes 12-4.
“We had a really good season,” Filbrun said. “But we are going to miss the seniors.”