By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Notre Dame seniors Haylee Fullenkamp and Taylor Meenach had to pass some tough tests before they graduate next week and one of them came on the tennis court instead of in the classroom.
On Friday, Fullenkamp and Meenach won their second consecutive 9th Region doubles championship by defeating top-seeded Sadie Jones and Hallie King of Beechwood in an arduous title match at Boone Woods Park.
After winning the first set, 6-1, the Notre Dame duo made a comeback that fell short in the second set that ended with a 7-5 victory for their counterparts from Beechwood.
In the third-set tiebreaker, Fullenkamp and Meenach got back on track and outscored Jones and King, 10-3, to retain the region title.
“I think the second set we got a little more nervous and tight, but we really proved ourselves in the third set that we really deserved to be on top and deserved to win,” Fullenkamp said.
The region finalists did not play each other in the regular season. That’s why coaches decided which one would be the top seed and Beechwood got more votes than the defending champs.
Fullenkamp and Meenach won their first three region matches in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Beechwood had to win a tiebreaker against Notre Dame’s other doubles team to stay in contention, but the top two seeds did make it to the region final.
“I think that we wanted to be the underdogs in this situation,” Meenach said. “We came in ranked No. 2 and had nothing to lose.”
When they fell behind, 4-1, in the second set, the Notre Dame teammates kept their composure and made a comeback that raised their spirits going into the tiebreaker.
“We told each other that we just needed to play our game,” Meenach said. “We didn’t need to worry about what the score was right now and just needed to win point by point.”
Both doubles teams advance to the girls state tennis tournament that begins May 30. Last year, Fullenkamp and Meenach made it to the round of 16 and lost their final match in a tiebreaker.