By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Carmel High School tennis program has won just about everything over the past decade, but there was something it hadn’t won since 2004: A girls singles state championship.
That drought finally ended Saturday at Park Tudor. Greyhounds junior Lauren Lemonds won a three-set semi-final, then overwhelmed Evansville Memorial’s Makenzie Myers 6-0, 6-2 in the championship match. Lemonds’ victory is the first girls singles state title for Carmel since Sophie Grabinski won in 2004.
“Lauren’s a great girl to break it,” said Greyhounds coach Spencer Fields. “She’s a fantastic competitor, a great teammate. She really exemplifies what Carmel tennis is about.”
Not bad for a girl who was playing her first year for Carmel. Lemonds was the Greyhounds’ No. 1 singles player this season, helping Carmel to win the team state championship just last week.
“It was the most fun experience, playing on a team, because I had never done that before,” said Lemonds. “It was my first year at high school, but it was so much fun.
“It was really different, because I was home-schooled for four years, and then I go to a school with over 5,000 students, so it was a huge change,” said Lemonds. “Overall, everyone was really welcoming, and it was a lot of fun.”
In the semi-finals, Lemonds needed three sets to get past Fort Wayne Canterbury sophomore Kyra Foster, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, running away with the final set. Lemonds was in control of the championship from the beginning, winning the first nine games to lead 6-0, 3-0 before Myers got on the board.
“She played a nice clean match there,” said Fields. “The girl that she played is an experienced senior, so I knew the girl was going to fight to the bitter end. She did, but Lauren was really on her game today. She played a clean finals match. She didn’t make a lot of mistakes, made a lot of serves.”
Lemonds joins Grabinski and two-time champion Holyn Lord (1989-90) as Carmel girls singles champions. All four of them won state as the finish to undefeated seasons. But Lemonds completed her year 33-0, which is a new state record for most wins dating back to 1987.
It also wrapped up an amazing year for the Greyhounds’ tennis program in general. Last fall, Carmel’s boys swept the Triple Crown, winning the team state championship first. Then in the individual tournament, Patrick Fletchall won the singles event, while Ethan McAndrews and Jay Natarajan won the doubles. That’s five of six state titles for the ‘Hounds.
Carmel’s No. 1 doubles team of juniors Julia Miller and Grace Marchese also played in the tournament, but dropped a three-set match to Center Grove juniors Isabella Schoolcraft and Cassidy Hardin, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Schoolcraft and Hardin won the championship match over the Fort Wayne Carroll sophomore team of Mia Toscos and Lauren VanWyngarden 6-2, 6-1.
Of course, Miller and Marchese were integral to Carmel’s team win as well. The duo finished up their season with a 9-1 record.
“More than anything, I just love the enthusiasm and the way they played,” said Fields of the Greyhounds team. “Again, they played for Carmel and they did a really good job of being the people we want them to be.”
Last week’s team state championship marked the ninth title for the Greyhound girls. Carmel is behind only North Central in the all-time list, with the Panthers having won 12 state titles. The Greyhounds have won six of their state championships since 2009, having appeared in every state final since then – a record run of nine consecutive state appearances.
Carmel junior Lauren Lemonds finished an undefeated season (33-0) Saturday by winning the singles state championship at Park Tudor. Lemonds is the first Greyhound to win a girls singles title since Sophie Grabinski in 2004. Lemonds is pictured with assistant coach Bryan Hanan (left) and head coach Spencer Fields. (Richie Hall)