Doubles teams help Valley girls tennis hand Rochester first loss

Callahan, Miller also win at singles; Clevenger claims No. 3 singles for Lady Zs

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Sarah Finney Ella Sandbakken

AKRON — Sarah Finney and Ella Sandbakken have transitioned from singles to doubles, and the Tippecanoe Valley girls tennis team might be the better for it.

Finney and Sandbakken headed up Valley doubles domination in a 4-1 win over visiting Rochester at the chilly, windy, newly resurfaced Valley courts Tuesday.

Finney and Sandbakken beat Vivian Miller and Ellie Straeter 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 doubles, and Karley Hallstrom and Maci Parker beat Sophie McCall and Abbi St. Martin 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 doubles.

Valley also got points from Karegan Callahan, who topped Ella McCarter 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, and freshman Savana Miller, who beat senior Audrey Bolinger 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.

Callahan, the RTC Girls Tennis Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, showed variety with her game. She could chip a service return and then batter a forehand into the deep corner on the next swing.

“She did a good job,” Valley coach Hunter Ackerman said. “She probably could have done a little bit better of a job hitting with more spin, and I kind of got on her in the second set about it, but she played really, really well today. I was really proud of her. She had a three-set match against Ella McCarter last year. To win in two sets, she was really good.”

Rochester’s point came from Rylee Clevenger, who lost the first three games of her match against freshman Bella Parker at No. 3 singles but came back to win 6-4, 6-1.

Clevenger improved to 5-0 on the season.

“I think it took her a few games to figure out her opponent’s weak spots, and she just played against those,” Rochester coach Adrian Paulik said of Clevenger. “I think she also found where she was doing well as far as playing with the wind. I think that helped her a lot, and then she learned how to stay back as she was hitting those returns, and then also, her serves were really good today as well.”

Ackerman paired Finney and Sandbakken at doubles with freshmen Miller and Bella Parker joining the program.

Finney said doubles players must be more “proactive.”

“It’s definitely a mindset shift more than anything because the strategies are two completely different things,” Finney said of the move from singles to doubles. “I’ve played doubles before, but just remembering how to get back into the doubles strategies and remembering how the court moves versus singles is just kind of the adjustment I’ve had to make.”

Finney and Sandbakken could either go crosscourt or go down the line with their shots and forced the Rochester duo to cover a lot of court all the way into the alleys.

Sandbakken said that doubles players can be more creative in terms of finding angles for their shots given the wider court.

“We practice where we place the ball because you want to find their open spots to where they can’t get to the ball, so we do practice that sometimes,” Sandbakken said.

Results: Tippecanoe Valley 4, Rochester 1

Singles

Karegan Callahan (TV) def. Ella McCarter (RHS), 6-0, 6-2

Savana Miller (TV) def. Audrey Bolinger (RHS), 6-1, 6-4

Rylee Clevenger (RHS) def. Bella Parker (TV), 6-4, 6-1

Doubles

Sarah Finney-Ella Sandbakken (TV) def. Vivian Miller-Ellie Straeter (RHS), 6-0, 6-1

Karley Hallstrom-Maci Parker (TV), 6-0, 6-0