During the first set of Monday’s regional semifinal match, LaPorte senior Jill Boger abandoned her original strategy.
She realized that in order to help her team advance to the regional championship, playing it safe at No. 1 singles just wasn’t going to cut it.
Boger’s willingness to take risks helped the Slicers defeat Portage 3-2 and advance to Wednesday’s final against South Bend St. Joseph.
After edging Emily Sajda 7-5 in the first set, Boger cruised to a 6-2 second-set victory to clinch the win for LaPorte (16-4).
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“I tried to play it safe, but (Sajda) was very consistent,” Boger said. “She’s good at getting the ball back, so you’re going to have to go for tougher shots. I wanted to run her around because she gets to everything. The strategy was to move her around in hopes that we’d win some points that way.”
Boger (15-5) inherited the No. 1 singles position from her sister Caroline, who occupied the top spot before graduating last year. Now, the younger sister owns family bragging rights as the only Boger to reach a regional championship.
“Jill is our leader and our anchor,” LaPorte coach Don Varda said. “You need that win at No. 1, you expect that win at No. 1, and she delivered it.
“The second set, she started hitting short angle balls better. She started attacking more and increasing her confidence.”
At No. 3 singles, LaPorte’s Abi Glass dug out of a 5-0 hole against Emilee Eagan to win 7-5 in the first set. After erasing a 5-0 set deficit for the first time in her career, Glass (17-3) completed the victory with a 6-0 win.
“The heat was my motivation,” Glass said. “I didn’t want to go to a third set. I decided I needed to step it up a little bit. At the start, I was a little lazy. After that, I was moving a lot more.”
Freshman Alaina Majors also contributed to LaPorte’s sweep of the singles points, defeating Sammie Thompson 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2.
“(Majors) lost a couple matches earlier this year that she probably shouldn’t have, and then she came back and beat those girls in our sectional,” Varda said. “She played Portage even better than she did the first time. Her confidence has built throughout the season.”
Portage’s No. 1 doubles team of Haley Mergl and Brittney Shebish advanced in the state doubles tournament with a 6-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory over Madison Shreves and Grace Scissom. Mergl and Shebish upped their record to 23-2 for the Indians (19-6).
The only match that had a different result than the regular-season meeting was at No. 2 doubles, where Portage’s Julia Tucker and Bella DeAnda won 6-2, 6-1 over Amie Decker and Allison Varda.
During the regular season, DeAnda was sidelined with an ankle injury and her sister Ana filled in at No. 2 doubles.
“I don’t think the LaPorte girls knew it was two different people because we’re sisters and we look alike,” Bella DeAnda said. “I don’t think they were expecting us to be as good as we were.”
Sajda and Thompson are seniors, but the rest of Portage’s team returns next season.
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.