Kokomo — Strong singles play helped Kokomo turn back visiting Northwestern 4-1 in a boys tennis match on Tuesday. Blake Brown was a 6-2, 6-1 winner at No. 1, Michael Hilton was a 6-4, 6-2 winner at No. 2 and Patrick Cole cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 3.

“I thought we were tested at 1 and 2 singles,” Kokomo coach Shawn Flanary said. “Blake remained calm and ended up playing some pretty good tennis and I was really proud of Michael Hilton because [Tiger No. 2 player Matt Mervis] has been a strong point for them. Michael kept his composure and played some of his best tennis of the season.

“Three singles and 2 doubles, we just kind of took care of business. I think we were a little more experienced than them at those spots.”

Drew Sale and Drew Sawyer posted a 6-0, 6-2 win for the Kats at No. 2 doubles.

The Tigers’ point came at No. 1 doubles where Ben-Marvin Egel and Bryan Beachy topped the Kat team of Keaton Dubois and Eric Eramo 7-5, 6-4.

“That proved to be an entertaining match,” Flanary said. “It was a long match, a lot of great points. I think Northwestern proved to be maybe a little steadier. They were a really good lobbing team against us, but our boys played well.”

Kokomo improved to 5-1.

Taylor 3, Madison-Grant 2

Matt Brankle and Cameron Clark posted a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles to help the Titans turn back the visiting Argylls for a 3-0 start.

“One doubles is playing really strong right now,” Taylor coach Dave Wise said. “Madison-Grant had put two of their stronger players at that position and it was a good match. [Brankle and Clark] are undefeated.”

The Titans’ other points came from singles players Nathan Gotshall and Jack Lipchik. Gotshall was a 6-0, 6-1 winner at No. 2 and Lipchik was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at No. 3.

The Titans nearly swept the singles matches, but the Argylls’ Conner Hunt rallied to beat Drew Hansen 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1.

“Our singles guys are playing pretty well,” Wise said, noting Gotshall and Lipchik are undefeated. “Right now, we’re feeling pretty good about being 3-0.”

Eastern 4, Alexandria 1

The Comets turned in a crisp performance against the visiting Tigers to even their record at 1-1.

In singles competition, Connor Young took a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 and Robbie Walling earned a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. And in the doubles matches, Michael Dunkle and Joel Coffman were 6-2, 6-1 winners at No. 1 and Adam McKinney and Austin Chase took a 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) win at No. 2.

“I’m very pleased,” Eastern coach Andrew Miller said. “We went with a new lineup and I thought we responded very well. I thought our singles was much improved from our last match. They were a lot more consistent and they kept their heads a little better. I thought they played very good tennis.

“And then doubles, I really liked their aggressiveness. They were looking to put balls away and they were looking to really attack. They took care of business.”

Western 5, Tipton 0

No. 3 singles player Tyler Lucas and the No. 2 doubles team of Brandon Penning and Austin LaFollette pitched 6-0, 6-0 shutouts to highlight the Panthers’ win.

In the other matches, Benji Fountain took a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles and Matt Orr was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at No. 2 singles. Tipton forfeited the No. 1 doubles point.

“I thought we came out and executed well,” Western coach Brandon Shawhan said. “Tipton is in the midst of rebuilding right now and trying to get things going. I told our guys that every match we get to play is a match that we get a chance to improve. I thought we went out and hit the ball pretty well.”

Western improved to 5-0.

Maconaquah 3, Wabash 2

The Braves (6-1) jumped to an early 3-0 lead on wins by No. 2 singles player Ryan Frantz (7-5, 6-2), No. 3 singles player Tanner Christner (6-1, 6-2) and the No. 2 doubles team of Andrew Bowman and Chris Ayers (6-4, 6-1).

“There were a couple of matches that could have gone either way so we are a little nervous thinking that when sectional comes around, we may have to play them again,” Maconaquah coach Tim Maiben said.

Girls golf

Noblesville 163, Western 183, Northwestern 188

Western’s Courtnee Cossell won medalist honors in the three-team match at Harbour Trees GC in Noblesville with a 2-over-par 37.

Allison Lindley (42), Sibil Gill (43) and Natalie Newlin (61) rounded out the Panthers’ 183.

No. 3 player Libby Hansen fired a solid 42 to lead Northwestern. Peyton Hite (47), Christa McClure (49) and Jillian Hungate (50) followed for Randy Lindgren’s squad.

“Libby Hansen played excellently for Northwestern … and Christa McClure, although she shot a 49, honestly played seven great holes. She just had two disasters that kept her score from being right at 40 so there are some bright spots,” Lindgren said, who tipped his hat to the Panthers’ Cossell for her play as well.

Volleyball

Kokomo def. Elwood 25-21, 25-17, 25-23

Kokomo claimed its first win under rookie coach Jason Watson, but it didn’t come easy.

“Elwood is a scrappy team,” Watson said. “We are trying to mesh. There is good enthusiasm and intensity on the team and we were able to turn that into a victory.”

Ball State recruit Kelly Hopkins led Kokomo (1-7) with 20 kills and eight digs. Brice Allen had 15 serve receptions and five aces. Samantha Johnson and Shelby Pickfer had 11 assists apiece and Amanda Kailey had four kills.

Oak Hill def. Taylor 25-23, 25-13, 25-12

Taylor enjoyed a promising start, but Oak Hill grabbed control late in the first game and maintained it the rest of the way.

“We weren’t able to finish. It was like 23-17 [Taylor in the first game] and we just didn’t get a break. It was one thing after another and it was 25-23 and we lost,” Taylor coach Myndie Everling said. “They pretty much controlled [the second and third games].”

Bri Barnett floored eight kills for the Titans. Mone’y Black totaled four kills, four blocks and four assists.

No. 5 Clinton Central def. NW 25-21, 25-14, 25-15

The Class 2A No. 5-ranked Bulldogs beat Northwestern (1-7) in three games on the CC floor.

Ali Stark led Northwestern’s cause with 10 service points, Nia Cobb had six and Kelsey Priday five. Rachel Lowden had six blocks and Abby Cline had four. Mollie Daily had 11 service receptions while Anna Sloss had four.

“First game we played decent ball. We were in the game all the way to the end,” NW coach Marty Britten said. “The next two games we didn’t play very well. Our defense let us down. Our zone coverage, we couldn’t do anything with it and we were looking at balls dropping.

“Right now we’re struggling to find somebody that wants to play and wants to do what we ask. We’ve got some good athletes but we’ve got to get them motivated to do what we want them to be doing.”

Guerin Catholic def. Eastern 25-18, 22-25, 25-12, 25-21

The Comets (3-7) fell in four games at Guerin Catholic.

Hayley Mavrick had 15 service receptions, 15 kills and 10 digs for Eastern. Amanda Alexander had 25 assists, 14 service points, six on aces, and nine digs. Colby Marner had 15 service receptions and a dozen digs.

“Guerin Catholic is a good team and offensively was just a little bit better than we were,” Eastern coach Meredith Cipriano said. “Again our serve receive was weak. It’s something we keep working on and doesn’t seem to have any consistency back there.

“Amanda Alexander had a good night. She had a good service game, was able to exploit their week passer … and did a great job dishing out the ball.”

No. 5 LCC def. TC 25-6, 25-16, 25-22

Despite being swept by Class A No. 5-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic in a Hoosier Heartland Conference match, Tri-Central coach Ron Byram saw positive signs.

“The girls kept fighting,” Byram said. “They didn’t have a letdown. The Knights were the best team we have played so far this year, and they have no weak spots. I was proud of the girls in the way they battled.”

Caili Thomas led Tri-Central with 16 serve receptions and five digs. Lacey Dyer had 10 serve receptions and seven digs, Taylor Farris contributed seven assists and four kills, Rachel Parsons had four kills and Cara Thomas had seven assists.

Girls soccer

Western 8, Tipton 3

Tipton scored first, but Western battled back to tie it at 1-1 going into halftime, then exploded for seven goals in the second half to win going away.

“We usually have trouble when we get scored on, but our girls battled back. Everyone gave 150 percent and that made the difference in the end,” Western coach Kate Glick said.

Elise Briscoe led the way for Western (3-2) with two goals and a assist. Melissa Myer scored two goals, Kim Grider had a goal and a assist and Faith Renken, Brittani Trueblood and Rebecca Reeder each added a goal. Goalie Emily Hawkins had nine saves.

Lafayette Jeff 4, Kokomo 1

Kokomo got a goal from Anh Pham off a throw in from Caroline Harbaugh to tie the score in the second half but couldn’t hold off Jeff at Kokomo. Becca Wade had 11 saves for the Kats (2-2).

“I thought our girls played a tremendous, hard-fought game with them, stayed with them the whole second half,” Kokomo coach Myles Geary said. “They had a goal that changed the momentum against us and we couldn’t recover very well. It’s too bad because I thought we played such a great game against a really solid Jeff team.”

Boys soccer

Northwestern 5, Taylor 0

Northwestern’s defense turned in a strong effort, helping the Tigers improve to 3-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the MIC.

“We had a great team effort,” Northwestern coach Jim Wagner said. “Our defense was really solid, and the defensive line did a great job. We had some good support from the bench, and a lot of guys played well.”

Tiger goalie Kyle Smith had four saves. Offensively, Dalton Smallwood led Northwestern with two goals and an assist, Jake Smallwood had a goal and an assist, Austin Finley and Robert Olsen added a goal apiece and Adam Fessenden had an assist.

Seth Stockdell had eight saves for the Titans (2-3, 1-2 MIC).

“It’s still a learning curve and they still have to learn to have a little confidence in themselves and their teammates,” Taylor coach Mike Shane said. “They’re getting there. They never quit, they never gave up, they played all the way to the end.”

Eastern 4, Peru 3

The Comets were up 2-0 at halftime but found themselves in trouble in the second stanza when the host Bengal Tigers ripped off three straight goals to take the lead. Quick thinking from Andrew Kerner led to Eastern’s equalizer.

“We were putting the pedal to the metal trying to get that equalizer goal,” Eastern coach John Van Matre said. “Andrew gets that quick throw in down the left side and leads Wes Horner just beautifully toward the goal and he goes in and scores.”

The Comets found a winner two minutes from the end of regulation when Jordan Van Matre got control of a loose ball in the box, then beat the goalie and a defender to score. Eastern’s first half netters were an unassisted goal from Horner and a header from Grant Cole off a Sean Ryan corner kick. Bryce Reed had 16 saves.

Tri-Central 1, Tipton 1

After Tipton took a 1-0 lead in the second half, Tri-Central’s Cole Mendell scored on a penalty kick to tie it at 1-1.

Caleb Palmer had five saves for the Trojans.

Maconaquah 3, Hamilton Heights 2

The Braves began the MIC portion of their schedule with a one-goal win over the Huskies.

Austin Waite led Maconaquah (2-2-2 overall) with two goals. Corey Minerd also had a strong game, scoring a goal and dishing an assist. Christian Lopez and Ryan Brown each had an assist and Jordan Bradley have five saves.

Carroll 4, Rossville 0

Elliot Packard, Jarvis Simmons and Tim Ruby scored goals in the first half as the Cougars took control early against the Hornets in Hoosier Heartland Conference play. Alex Atkisson capped the scoring with a goal in the final two minutes.

Packard, Simmons and Gavin Hancock each had an assist.

Girls CC

Frankfort 42, NW 46, Cass 47, Tipton 91

The Hot Dogs came out on top of a tight three-way race in time-draining heat at Frankfort.

Cass’ Ashley Baber was the overall winner in a time of 22:00. Teammate Sharaya Woodmansee was seventh (23:34).

Gretchen Catron was second to lead Northwestern in 22:35. Britanny Jocius was sixth (23:29), Heidi Freeman was 11th (24:09), Hannah Ault was 13th (25:23) and Karly Sprouse was 14th (25:24).

Northwestern coach Dave Stevens said it was a “very hot night to run. The times aren’t things we should be focusing on. We competed a very good race. I was glad the way the girls battled and held on and scored every point we could to make sure we got second place.”

Kayla Cunningham was fifth (23:24) to lead Tipton.

Warsaw invitational

Peru finished eighth. Emilie Hobbs led the Tigers with a 25th-place finish. The Tigers’ lineup also included Keyia McConahay (32nd), Gena Fisher (80) and Kyia Haidaczuk (82).

Boys CC

Logan 29, Maconaquah 35, Kokomo 60

The Berries edged the sectional favorite Braves for the top spot in the three-team meet.

“Three of the best boys in the New Prairie Semistate met at the hot, hilly Highland Park course,” Kokomo coach Ricke Stucker noted. “Logan’s Kyle Overway won in 17:14, Kokomo’s Adrian Glover was second and Maconaquah’s Jacob Bingham was third.”

Also for Kokomo, Nolan Arnold and Matt Scharenbroch each ran 21:14, Minh Pham and Waylon Coulter covered the course in 21:18 and 21:29, respectively, and Jeremy Breedlove recorded a 22:02.

Frankfort 21, Cass 53, Northwestern 71, Tipton 97

With Javier Vazquez setting the pace and taking first place in 18:30, the Hot Dogs won a four-team meet on their home course.

Sam Freeman was fifth to lead Northwestern (19:19), followed by Nolan Cockrell (10th, 20:53), Charlie Neher (20th, 21:49), Kyle Condon (21st, 21:54) and Jacob Heredos (25th, 22:40).

“We’re pretty inexperienced in several of the spots and this was a great meet for them to run in, brand new course they’ve never seen, hot conditions and I thought they performed well,” Stevens said. “Their times are slow based on the heat, but other than that they ran well. They learned a lot.”

Cass’ Nate Wilson took second in 18:41. Madison Carney took 11th (21:08). Logan Maddox was ninth to lead Tipton (20:46).

Warsaw invitational

Jordan Garretson led Peru with a 41st-place finish. Other Peru runners included Dakota Barnes (62nd), Clint Hazlett (72nd), Ryan Carter (73rd), Tyler Kintner (85th), and Shane Garretson (86th).