Triton Central tennis came up one match win short of making a regional finals appearance Tuesday at Center Grove High School.
Franklin Central defeated Triton Central, 3-2, to set up a regional championship match against 11th-ranked Center Grove, a 5-0 winner over Perry Meridian Tuesday.
Triton Central got wins at the top two singles spots but couldn’t find a third win to eliminate the Flashes.
Alex Crouse defeated FC’s Landon Carlisle at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 6-2. Crouse improved to 13-8 this season and will move into the state singles sectional tournament Thursday, also at Center Grove.
At No. 2 singles, freshman Tucker Hutchinson completed an outstanding season with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hayden Hege. Hutchinson finished 17-4 at No. 2 singles this season.
Ethan Jackson needed a tiebreaker to defeat Triton Central’s Ashton Sturm at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Sturm closed out the season 10-4 at No. 3 singles.
Triton Central’s doubles pairings were dominant much of the season but never got on track Tuesday.
Kole Brewer and Wyatt Gilliland defeated Triton Central’s Avram Rund and Quintin Potts at No. 1 doubles, 6-1, 6-2.
And at No. 2 doubles, Aaron Mahoney and Joshua Summitt topped Oliver Gearlds and Griffin Sego, 6-4, 6-4.
Both of TC’s doubles teams finished the season 17-6.
Center Grove did not drop a set against the Falcons in the other regional semifinal. Five of the seven Trojans were freshmen or sophomores.
In other prep events Tuesday:
Volleyball
Triton Central def. North Decatur, 20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 15-7
At Triton Central on Senior Night, Maddy Brown and Brooklyn Bailey combined for 29 kills to end a four-game win streak for North Decatur (20-8).
Brown finished with a team-high 17 kills and had 28 digs to get Triton Central (14-9) its third-straight win. Bailey had 12 kills and six total blocks.
Julia Sanders collected a team-high 43 digs. Hallie Schweitzer added 18 digs.
Kate Isley recorded 29 assists.
Greenwood Christian def. Southwestern, 25-11, 25-21, 25-19
At Greenwood Christian, Olivia Shingleton had 17 kills and 10 digs to lead the host Cougars (10-13).
Mara Beumer added 11 kills and four aces. Naomi Hillenburg had a team-high 13 digs and Savannah Danielson collected 37 assists.
The Spartans have lost four straight and sit at 9-17 as they prepare for Saturday’s Shelby County Tournament.
Lutheran def. Morristown, 25-12, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18
At Lutheran, the host Saints improved to 11-15 this season.
The loss dropped Morristown to 11-15.
New Palestine def. Shelbyville, 25-13, 25-14, 25-19
At Shelbyville on Pink Out Night, Reagan Kleiman led New Palestine (25-3, 4-2 Hoosier Heritage Conference) with 16 kills.
Lauren Wilson contributed 11 kills and 10 digs while Isabella Gizzi finished with 35 assists and five kills.
The loss dropped the Golden Bears to 14-11 (2-5 HHC).
New Palestine won the junior varsity match, 25-17, 25-22.
