Six county schools finish in top 30 rankings
The REPORTER
The Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association has come out with its list of post-season awards for girls tennis.
Not surprisingly, several Hamilton County players are on the lists. The county had the team state champion in Carmel for the third consecutive year. Fishers reached the state finals, also for the third straight year. Noblesville, Westfield, Hamilton Southeastern and Guerin Catholic all finished ranked in the top 30 in the IHSTeCA’s final season poll, and University and Hamilton Heights both had post-season honorees as well.
Rankings
With Carmel winning the state title, the Greyhounds were the obvious choice for the No. 1 ranking on the IHSTeCA’s poll. Fishers was rated fourth, while Noblesville finished in the top 10 at No. 9. The Millers gave the Tigers a tough battle in the sectional before Fishers won 3-2.
Westfield earned the No. 11 spot in the rankings; the Shamrocks were rated in the top 10 at various points during the season. Southeastern finished the season ranked No. 16, and Guerin Catholic was rated No. 24.
All-State and All-District
Many county players were named to the 2023 All-State teams, in both singles and doubles.
Four local players made First Team Singles, starting with two from Carmel: Junior Nora Perkins and senior Elyse Nelson. Fishers sophomore Mischa Briggs and Noblesville sophomore Bella Duncan were also First Team players. Carmel’s No. 1 doubles team of seniors Ali Griffin and Alexa Lewis were named to First Team Doubles.
The Second Team Doubles featured five local teams. For the Greyhounds, sophomore Marina Duncan and freshman Alex Widjaja received the honor, along with both of the Fishers varsity doubles squads: Emma Beehler/Cassie Maurer and Maddie Barron/Meredith Ober. All of those Tigers players are juniors. Hamilton Southeastern’s team of senior Novelle Lee and Maya Wetzel made Second Team, as did the Noblesville pairing of junior Lina Hamashuk and Cami Crist.
Honorable Mention singles honors went to Carmel sophomore Grace Kim, Fishes senior Izzy Mokra, Noblesville junior Allie Stamm and University freshman Laurel Buttrick.
All of the above-mentioned players were also named to the All-District team for the IHSTeCA’s District 6.
Academic honors
The IHSTeCa also named its Academic All-State Individual Team. The award is for seniors who have a minimum grade-point average of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale, and a minimum SAT score of 1280 or ACT score of 27. Carmel’s Lewis and Griffin were both named to the team, along with Hamilton Heights senior Samantha Burk.
In addition, there is a team Academic All-State award, where a minimum of a cumulative 3.6 GPA is needed to be eligible. Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Hamilton Southeastern, Noblesville and University all were named to the team.
The Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association also released an Academic All-State team. Hamilton Southeastern’s Novelle Lee and Maya Wetzel were both named as Honorable Mention for that list.