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Carmel Tops Munster for Third Consecutive Girls Tennis Title
The Carmel Greyhounds wasted little time in claiming the 2015 IHSAA girls tennis state championship.
The team took less than 90 minutes in sweeping Munster in straight sets to win its third consecutive title at North Central High School.
During their three-year run, the Greyhounds (21-0) have gone a perfect 58-0, all under coach Mike Bostic, who is stepping down as the girls and boys coach. Bostic also coached the Carmel boys team to five state championships in recent years.
Freshman Kiersten Carlson won her No. 1 singles match over Munster's Nikki Heiniger, 6-4, 6-1 and the No. 1 doubles team of Emma Love and Lauryn Padgett defeated Maddy Purcell and Anna Riggs, 6-0, 6-0. Both remained undefeated during the tournament and will compete in next weekend's individual state finals.
The Greyhound girls defeated Jasper 5-0 in Friday's quarterfinal round and dispatched Indianapolis Cathedral 4-1 in Saturday morning's semifinals. Cathedral's only two losses of the year were to Carmel.
Munster, coached by Patrick Spohr, defeated Avon on Friday and Bloomington South on Saturday morning, both by 3-2 counts. It was the seventh runner-up finish for Munster, their last was in 2008. The Mustangs finished the season 18-4.
It was the sixth state championship this year for Carmel and its second in less than 24 hours after the boys track and field team claimed the hardware Friday night in Bloomington.
Bloomington South's Azcui Named Mental Attitude Award Winner
Denise Azcui of Bloomington High School South was announced as the recipient of this year's IHSAA Mental Attitude Award in Girls Tennis.
Denise maintains a 4.3 GPA through a rigoruous set of honors diploma-caliber classes. She is the National Honor Society President and served four years with the Student Council, Panther Activity Council, Best Buddies and the girls tennis team. She also played three years on the girls basketball team.
Azcui is the defending undefeated singles state champion and will look for a second crown in next weekend's state finals. She played No. 1 singles for the Panthers again this season helping them to their first appearance in the state finals since 1988.
She is the daughter of Kathy and Ramiro Azcui of Bloomington and will play tennis at Western Michigan University beginning in the fall.
Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior player who was nominated by her principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The Committee presented $1,000 to Blooomington High School South's general scholarship fund in the name of Azcui.