Grizzly Cubs, Woodmen gain county tennis semis

<p>Not until Silas Smith had gotten one last winner past Indian Creek’s Jaden Schrogham could Franklin boys tennis coach Rusty Hughes exhale.</p><p>Smith narrowly avoided a third set, finishing off a 6-1, 7-5 win at first singles on Tuesday to help the Grizzly Cubs clinch a 3-2 victory over the Braves in the first round of the Johnson County tournament.</p><p>Franklin will play Whiteland in one semifinal at Center Grove today. The host Trojans will face Greenwood, a 5-0 winner over Edinburgh, in the other.</p><p>Hughes was thrilled to see his young squad finish off a close match against a Braves team that came in with a 7-1 record.</p><p>&quot;It’s really important, because we’re inexperienced,&quot; he said. &quot;This is kind of a rebuilding year to where every point is tough for us.&quot;</p><p>The No. 1 doubles team of Jackson Klem and Sam Auger got the Grizzly Cubs on the board first with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jake Mitchell and Cass Mitchell, but the Braves came back to reclaim the lead with straight-set victories from Brendan Conner and Aiden Pemberton at second and third singles, respectively.</p><p>After Franklin’s Zion Parkhurst and Jackson Hedges evened the match with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at second doubles, all eyes turned to the battle between Smith and Schrogham.</p><p>Smith rallied from behind to take a 6-5 lead in the second set, then fought through several deuces before delivering the decisive shot just out of Schrogham’s reach.</p><p>As pleased as Hughes was with the result on Tuesday, he knows today’s match with the unbeaten Warriors will be much more challenging. No. 25 Whiteland won the regular-season matchup with Franklin, 5-0.</p><p>&quot;Tomorrow night will be a different creature,&quot; Hughes said.</p><p>Host Greenwood made light work of the Lancers in Tuesday’s other match, advancing without dropping a single game in any of the five matches.</p><p>Ethan Gray, Nick Belovic and Charlie Brooks took care of the three singles matches for the Woodmen (11-2). Thomas Burtt and Aidan Luttrell were victorious at No. 1 doubles, while Sam Fenner and Noah Paswater won in the second spot.</p>