LAPORTE, IN. - Playing solid tennis at the right time of year has led LaVille senior Elaina Franz deeper into the state tournament. Franz, the No. 1 singles player for coach Melissa Haisley, defeated John Glenn's Kelsey Yelaska 6-3, 6-1 to win a sectional championship. "I played her (Kelsey Yelaska) earlier in the season," recalled Franz of her two meetings against Yelaska this season. "The first time I played her I won and the second I played her I lost." Playing an opponent in the same season can have its advantages."Having that background and knowing who I was playing was pretty helpful," said Franz. "I think the biggest things were just pushing and not giving up. I knew some of the weaker spots. I also remembered that that was the only time this season that I was focused in on winning my match. It was a good match." Now, it's time to move on to the regional round of the Indiana High School Athletic Association tourney in the LaPorte Regional at Kesling Park. Admission will be $7 each. Franz will take on Sasha Adams from Whiting in one semifinal. In the opposite bracket, Sahara Joyce (Michigan City) will face Addison Mast (Fairfield).  Both matches are set for a 11 a.m start EDT.The championship match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start. According to Elaina, she took a different approach this season."This season I tried to focus on playing the game and playing it my way and not as much on winning," explained Franz. "It helped a lot by not getting down on myself and trying not to worry about points. It made it a lot easier to learn more and not worry about my mistakes kind of learned a lot about having confidence on the court and playing it my way. By the end of the season I improved and believed in myself more." When asked about how she feels about earning a sectional title, Franz said, "It feels really good. It makes me feel like I could do a lot more than I thought I could. It feels like the player that I wanted to be and that I can achieve more.It builds a lot of confidence. It's really exciting and I'm happy to be a sectional champion." Franz also hinted at a couple reasons why she is playing well at the right time of the season."I think I'm playing very good right now," said Franz. "My coach has said that I'm playing like Elaina 2.0 cause I just have been hitting the ball as hard as I can and giving it my all.    I think my serves are pretty good. I have a lot of power in my serves. I also think my backhand has improved so much." And, unlike the sectional when the opponent was more familiar. As a player moves deeper into the tournament, they may not know a lot about their opponent."I don't know anything about my opponent," admitted Franz. "I know that I am excited to represent my team and go out and play hard."It's very much a mental game, it's not getting down on myself and very much taking one point at a time is important. I want to try to stay consistent and give it my all. Really just believing in myself and trusting what my coach tells me to do. I'm really excited to get to play Saturday." Coach Haisley is also excited about what Franz has accomplished and is looking forward to Saturday's LaPorte Regional."Elaina has done a great job this year," said Haisley. "She has worked very hard to get to where she is. She has had her struggles but she has continued to work through it. She listens to what we tell her for the most part and especially the week leading up to sectional, she really kicked it up into another gear.She just started playing really good tennis and she went in with nothing to lose and had a really good sectional win. Playing John Glenn Elaina knew what she was up against. I don't think not knowing anything about our opponent really changes anything. She needs to stay level headed, stay positive and play her game just like she has done the last few matches. I'm very proud of her. She has been a part of the program since she was in junior high and she has made us very proud."