INDIANAPOLIS – Angola’s Ava and Maya Harris had enjoyed a perfect doubles season leading up to the Girls Tennis Individual State Tournament, but their winning streak came to an end in the semifinals Saturday as they fell 6-2, 6-3, to Fishers seniors Cassandra Maurer and Caroline Ober at North Central.
“It was awesome, it was a great experience,” said Ava Harris, a junior. “My freshman year, I played doubles with my sister (Brea), and we didn’t quite to the state (finals), so this year it was really good to get back here with my other sister.”
Ava and Maya Harris, a sophomore, went 21-0 during the regular season and 5-1 in the state tournament. They beat Center Grove seniors Ava Beecher and Lauren Dick 7-6 (7-1), 6-2, in the quarterfinals on Friday to reach the final day of the state tournament.
“It’s a cool experience, because during the regular season we don’t get much of a crowd or a lot of cheering, but here it really pushed us,” Maya Harris said.
Maurer and Caroline Ober reached the team state championship match with the full Fishers lineup last weekend. Although the Tigers lost 3-2 to South Bend Saint Joseph in the final, they beat Saint Joseph’s Dani Graham and Yergler in three sets at No. 1 doubles.
“I think they’re a really good team. They got us in a lot of good positions to take advantage of,” Ava Harris said. “They were good hitting where we were not.”
Tennis is not even the main focus of the Harris sisters, who are both primarily volleyball players, and that may have been a small aspect of their success this spring.
“I think the pressure being off our shoulders because it’s not our main sport, we just had fun with it, and we were able to keep winning and advancing,” Maya Harris said.
Volleyball camps and practices will resume almost immediately, but Ava Harris said she’s glad to have the opportunity to thrive in two different sports.
“To get here, it makes it really worth it that we put in time for both of these sports,” Ava Harris said.
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