Not until Silas Smith had gotten one last winner past Indian Creek’s Jaden Schrogham could Franklin boys tennis coach Rusty Hughes exhale.
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.
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.
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.
"It’s really important, because we’re inexperienced," he said. "This is kind of a rebuilding year to where every point is tough for us."
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.
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.
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.
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.
"Tomorrow night will be a different creature," Hughes said.
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.
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.
