PREP GIRLS TENNIS: NorthWood rallies to beat Concord in NLC clash

Apr. 17—ELKHART — Gabriella Umbower must enjoy the comeback role.

Down 5-2 in the first set and 3-0 in the second, the NorthWood sophomore rallied both times to win both sets, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker), 6-3. Those two comebacks helped the Panthers edge Concord, 3-2, in Northern Lakes Conference girls tennis action Friday night in Dunlap.

"Maybe she just likes to play from behind, I don't know," said NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz on Umbower. "I hope that's not the case because I don't want to do that the whole time."

Schwartz said Umbower is essentially playing her freshman year of varsity tennis since the pandemic canceled her true freshman season last spring. There's a learning curve to playing at the No. 1 singles slot, Schwartz said, and it's one that Umbower will continue to learn throughout the season.

"I think that's something she'll have to learn and adjust to," Schwartz said. "Once she started to adjusted to it, I think she felt a little more comfortable and a little more patient. I think, at first, she was trying to do too much, too quick and not really letting the game come to her."

On the flip side of Umbower's comebacks was Concord senior Rylee Brenneman. Minutemen coach Todd Denton thought his No. 1 singles player played well, but was just matched up against a player who's played a lot of tennis in Umbower.

"(Umbower) is a tournament-tough player; she plays tournaments, she does drills, things like that," Denton said. "Rylee is a soccer player that plays tennis. She gives it her all; she doesn't have the prettiest strokes out there, but she will not give up. She will outlast you, and that's what she was doing. ... She gave it all she had, and for a girl that played No. 2 JV two years ago to No. 1 singles now, I can't complain at all."

While the Umbower-Brenneman match went more than two hours, the other four varsity matches all finished in less than 70 minutes. NorthWood's two other victories came at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles. In singles action, freshman Britton Jesse won 6-2, 6-1. At No. 2 doubles, sophomore Amy Adams and freshman Emery Porter won 6-2, 6-1 as well.

Schwartz said Jesse's win was a nice bounce-back victory after a close loss to Fairfield on Tuesday.

"I thought Britton played really well," Schwartz said. "She had a tough match with Fairfield ... this time, I felt like she went in, took control and started playing her game, her style and really dictating the points. She was pretty much on the offense the whole time, and that helps a lot.

"I thought for our (No. 2) doubles team, the same thing. They were in offensive mode the whole time. They're really fun to watch together."

Concord's two wins came at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles. Senior Maddie Copsey was a 6-2, 6-1 winner in singles competition, while the team of juniors Kate Steele and Gracie Westlake won 6-0, 6-2 in the top doubles spot.

After losing to Goshen on Wednesday, Denton thought Steele and Westlake responded strongly against NorthWood.

"Their attitudes (Friday) were much better," said Denton of his No. 1 doubles team. "They were more into it, mentally and physically. They stayed more aggressive."

Concord finishes up its first week with an 0-3 overall record and 0-2 in NLC competition. While the Minutemen are still searching for their first win, Denton knows these first few weeks are preparation for postseason action come mid-May.

"I stress to get better every day for the long run," Denton said. "These are, more or less, practice matches. Yes, they are matches, they do count. But the big matches are the ones at the end of the season — the conference tournament, sectionals, things like that. So, that's what we're gearing for: to get better and playing our best tennis at that time of the year."

NorthWood is now 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the NLC. The Panthers are scheduled to play in six matches next week, so Schwartz knows her players will have to learn through matches and not as much in practice.

"We'll try to correct some things, but a lot of it will just be a mental thing that they do," Schwartz said. "I think our serving was better (Friday) than it was for our first match, so I think that is very helpful. ... I'm hoping next week that we can have that one more practice and then have some more time of getting in, getting some matches and getting some more confidence in ourselves."

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NORTHWOOD 3, CONCORD 2

No. 1 singles: Gabriella Umbower (N) def. Rylee Brenneman (C), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3

No. 2 singles: Britton Jesse (N) def. Dani Aplin (C), 6-2, 6-1

No. 3 singles: Maddie Copsey (C) def. Ashlyn Teller (N), 6-2, 6-1

No. 1 doubles: Kate Steele and Gracie Westlake (C) def. Paige Henschen and Kate Stillson (N), 6-0, 6-2

No. 2 doubles: Amy Adams and Emery Porter (N) def. Maggie Burkert and Addi May (C), 6-2, 6-1

Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.