By By DON EDEN / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Rain would dampen the outside tennis courts but the indoor facilities at the Lakeland Athletic Club in Niles brightened the spirits of the Edwardsburg girls as they captured the Lakeland Conference regular season with a 8-0 triumph over Coloma.
Kim Bartz of Edwardsburg won her third crown as coach after a dozen campaigns with the conference tournament Friday. The Eddies will host the singles matches and the doubles will be at Plym Park in Niles on Friday.
The No. 2 doubles went to three sets as senior Cassie DeMerchant and junior Kirsten Slack of the Eddies came back from a 6-3 opening setback to outlast the Coloma pair of junior Shelby Eastburn and sophomore Erin Cross (6-2, 6-3) as teammates from both teams watched with excitement.
"The change of the seasons didn't hurt us as much as some schools but this is always a competitive tough conference," said an elated Bartz. "I am extremely blessed and enjoy coaching these girls and winning the regular season conference is icing on the cake."
Winning without losing a game were No. 1 singles freshman Abby Watkins and the number four doubles tandem of junior Lauren Clark and sophomore Christina Boesler.
Seniors Miriam Agudo and C. C. Roberts won the No. 2 and No. 3 singles respectively by identical 6-1 and 6-0 sets for Edwardsburg.
Jenee Antoniu is another Eddie senior closing out her high school career with a victory as she teamed with junior Ashley Marschke in a 6-2 and 6-0 win at number one doubles.
The No. 4 singles was won by junior Amanda Piertrzak 6-2 and 6-1 with senior Allison Funkhouser and junior Katie Dutoi winning 6-1 and 6-2 at number three doubles.
Each school had close to 25 girls out for tennis with Edwardsburg having one more and Coloma one less. The Comets will have the entire team back as all four singles are juniors and underclassmen playing doubles.
"These are an awesome group of girls who I can see getting better all year who are very dedicated and work real well together," said Margie Urness who is finishing her 28th year as both boys and girls Coloma coach. "We are getting brand new courts this summer so I am really looking forward to our future but hope to pull some upsets in the conference tournament to change things."
Finishing careers for the Eddies were Agudo, Roberts, DeMerchant, Antoniu and Funkhouser and Bartz praised each for the off-season work and leadership.
"Agudo was a pleasant surprise being a foreign exchange student who is mentally tough and plays to win every match and Roberts is a captain who leads the team in drills and is very competitive and tough to have played athletics her entire life at a high level," boasted Bartz.
"Antoniu is a very dedicated captain who provides stability and an excellent role model with DeMerchant being the heart and soul of our team who is always positive and complementary toward teammates and Funkhouser is very passionate who is a great talent for us at No. 3 doubles, which shows our depth who plays with her heart every match."
Coloma…0
Edwardsburg…8
Singles
(1) Abby Watkins (ED) beat Casey Ely 6-0, 6-0; (2) Miriam Agudo (ED) beat Kighle Flamm 6-1,6-0; (3) CC Roberts (ED) beat Hannah Grootendorst 6-1,6-0; (4) Amanda Pietrzak (ED) beat Amber Timm 6-2,6-1
Doubles
(1) Jenee Antoniu and Ashley Marschke (ED) beat Whittley Dillenbeck and Alex Greco 6-2,6-0; (2) Cassie DeMerchant and Kirsten Slack (ED) beat Shelby Eastburn and Erin Cross 3-6,6-2,6-3; (3) Allison Funkhouser and Katie Dutoi (ED) beat Courtney Steinke and Stevee Parrigin 6-1,6-2; (4) Lauren Clark and Christina Boesler (ED) beat Amanda Fjestul and Amy Heater 6-0,6-0