Aside from the opportunity to try and beat her, there aren’t too many players who want to face Hobart junior Carla Jewell.
The No. 1 singles player for the Brickies can serve people off the court.
Armed with four serves — a kicker, top spin, slice and flat — Jewell causes headaches for opponents who have no idea which one is headed their way.
“I like surprising my opponents,” Jewell said. “I always give them a different shot. Every ball has a different spin. Every ball I hit has a purpose and they’re not always the same.
“I don’t want my opponent to know which strength I favor. I want them to always be trying to guess what my next shot will be, or what type of ball I’m going to hit.”
Jewell said she counts on all four serves, but favors two.
“In certain situations, I hit different serves,” she said. “I can tell by their faces that it’s really tough to return my serve.”
In addition to her serves, Jewell has a strong forehand and backhand, a slice backhand and drop shot, and can volley with the best.
“Carla’s more dedicated than anybody I know,” Hobart coach Carl Davis said. “Nobody works harder than she does.”
In addition to those on-the-court assets, Jewell is superbly conditioned athlete.
She has a black belt in karate, and spends four days a week training with strength and conditioning teacher Craig Osika in Hobart’s weight room.
She back squats 195 pounds, power cleans 125, benches 100, has a standing long jump of 7 feet, 2 inches, and a 36-inch vertical.
Osika, one of the best players in Hobart’s storied football history, was an offensive lineman at Indiana and played in the NFL with Cleveland and San Francisco.
“I’m definitely a lot stronger physically and mentally,” Jewell said. “My game has improved a lot. Having played lots of tournaments and match play, I’m not afraid to go against anybody and I’m confident in my stroke.
“I don’t go into a match doubting myself. I’ve had lots of hitting partners talk to me about how to stay mentally tough and about pressure situations.”
Jewell’s main goal this year?
“Make it past regionals,” she said. “The only way I’m going to do that is to get past (Lake Central’s Kristi) Tinsley.”
Jewell’s never beaten Tinsley, but had an opportunity recently at the Hobart Invite until rolling her right ankle on the fourth point.
While she won two matches and later held a 6-5 lead against Tinsley, Jewell couldn’t finish the match, was forced to retire and was extremely frustrated.
The good news is Jewell said her ankle is “about 80 percent” now.
Bulldogs hunker down: Since a loss to Munster, Crown Point has won six of seven matches.
“I feel like we’re playing as well as we can right now,” Bulldogs coach Brian Elston said. “We’re improving every day. Our goal is to get a little bit better every day, every match. We had a really good week, played some good teams and came away injury-free.”
Crown Point has a 6-2 record after Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Penn.
Surprising Wolves: Don’t look now, but Michigan City has won six straight matches.
Junior Sydney Kohn and sophomore Evangelea Dabagia are 7-0 at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively.
“The two of them give us an excellent start right there, so it makes it easier for the team,” said coach Rudy Kohn, Sydney’s dad. “It gives a team a lot of confidence knowing they can always count on two points in a match.”
John O’Malley is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
TOP 5
Last week’s rankings in parentheses.
1. Munster (1)
2. Crown Point (2)
3. Portage (3)
4. Lake Central (4)
5. Valparaiso (5)
Player of the Week: Munster freshman Shalini Tallamraju won two of three matches at the Carmel Invite, helping the Mustangs finish ahead of North Central and tied for second place with Jasper.
