By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The high school girls tennis season is under way in Indiana.
Regular-season matches begin this week, with some teams getting on the court last week by holding scrimmages. Two local teams scrimmaged against each other last Thursday, with Guerin Catholic hosting Westfield.
Many teams will be hosting the Shamrocks this season, as Westfield will be without home courts. The Shamrocks are building a brand-new tennis facility that is scheduled to be open in the fall. The old facility is retired, so the ‘Rocks will be road warriors this spring.
“We actually are trying to make it a fun thing this year,” said Westfield coach Trudy Coler. “We’re going to try to do a lot of themes on the bus to make it fun for the girls. And we knew going into the season that’s what it was going to be, so it wasn’t a surprise. So, we’ve prepared for it. We got team captains working on some fun things to do on the bus.”
The Shamrocks made their first bus trip Monday to play at Plainfield. It was a fun ride home, as Westfield won the dual 5-0.
Isabella Norris led the way with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles. Juliette Grilliot took the No. 2 singles match 6-1, 6-0, while Addi Kooi won at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-1. In doubles, No. 1 Carlie Lukowiak and Jenna Berry were 6-0, 6-2 winners, and No. 2 Bri Saylor and Bella Rivera came back to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Norris, Lukowiak and Saylor are seniors, along with Allison Emgenbroich and Mary Grenda. Coler said the Shamrocks have “a lot of experience this year with the seniors.”
Westfield will be off for spring break, then plays at Brownsburg on April 9.
Young Golden Eagles
Guerin Catholic begins its season today by hosting Tri-West. The Golden Eagles have a key senior leader at No. 1 singles but expect to see some younger players in the mix as well.
“We’ve got two freshmen, Grace Docktor and Cece Phillips that are going to be in the top three singles players,” said GC coach Becky Ragsdale. “Katie Geon is back. Right now she’s our No. 1 singles player.”
Also returning are the Kolb twins, sophomores Katie and Anna. They played Nos. 1 and 2 singles last season; Ragsdale said this year they are playing No. 1 doubles, which is “a new position for them. But they’re handling it nicely,” she said.
Junior Ella Hood is in the mix at No. 2 doubles. The Golden Eagles have 90 players on their team.
“They’re handling it really well,” said Ragsdale. “They understand that there are a lot of girls we have to look at. And they’ve done a great job.”
The main goal of the Golden Eagles is to improve every day.
“I think that we just have to come together as a team,” said Ragsdale. “We’ve got to get our doubles working together and get at least one of those doubles positions every match. And if we can get two out of three singles, I think that we’ll be in every match.”
Read about the Carmel girls tennis team in Thursday’s Reporter.