Tennis 2003 Preview
By Paul Dendiu
PLYMOUTH � Regardless of her personnel, Plymouth girls tennis coach Kim Riddle seems to have the same concern every year.
�We�re always worried about singles,� she said. �We can never find enough singles players. It�s a Plymouth thing.�
The Pilgrims should have enough talent to make singles their best thing.
Sophomore Aubrey Shanks and senior Abby Keiser return this year, and senior Shannon Gerhke will move up to individual competition after playing doubles last season.
�Shannon�s so mentally strong,� Riddle said. �She put a lot of time in the off-season.�
Many of Riddle�s players worked on their games during their down time, much to her delight.
�A lot of them put time in this winter,� Riddle said. �I haven�t seen that before. That�s a plus.�
Another plus will be having several options in the doubles rotation. Seniors Jessica Verynckt and Jenny Faulstich will hold down the No. 1 position. Senior Stefanie Crawford, juniors Christa Dagaas and Vicki Palmer, and sophomores Stephanie Welch and Jill Cartwright are currently vying for the No. 2 spot.
�We should be very strong,� Riddle said. �They�re all hitting well. This is probably the most fun team I�ve had. They work so hard, and when they come to practice, they mean business.�
The Pilgrims feel they have some unfinished business this season. Though they placed third in the Northern Lakes Conference and compiled a 14-5 record in 2002, Riddle�s players want to advance farther in the postseason.
�They would like to get out of regionals,� Riddle said. �The seniors I have are the players I started with on the JV team when they were freshmen. They want to be the best they can be in their last year. �
TRITON
It�s no secret that Triton will be the favorite in the Northern State Conference.
Coach Laura Lamaster wishes that fact wasn�t public knowledge.
�I think our girls like being the underdog,� she said. �We�re always used to coming from behind and winning. We�ll just have to change gears and be mentally tough. If there is any group can do it, this group can.�
The Trojans, who lost three seniors from last season�s 18-3 team, feature four seniors, three juniors and a number of talented JV players.
Seniors Angie Wilcox and Brittany Zeider will return to the singles courts for their final years, and classmates Lena Miller and Kelly Whiteman return to the doubles lineup.
Senior Tiffany Warner and juniors Holly Heckaman, Amber Mellott and Samantha Keel will solidify Triton�s squad.
�Samantha and Tiffany are ready for varsity,� Lamaster said. �They�ve been anxious. They�re going to do real well.�
If for some reason they don�t do well, Lamaster can call on any number of players from the junior varsity ranks.
�We�ve got strong fill-in players, some JV players that could move up very easily into some varsity spots,� she said. �We have more depth than what we�re used to having. I�m really pleased to have as much talent and depth as we have.�
Having veterans at key spots never hurts, either.
�We have some experience coming back, which is good. We have a lot of really good leaders. That�s always such a big plus,� Lamaster said. �They�re good role models for the (younger) girls. They�re willing to put forth the effort to reach their goals. It makes my job so much easier.�
The hard part for the Trojans will be maintaining the proper perspective.
�Mentally, it�s tough being at the top, knowing that everybody�s gunning for you. Our conference is not going to be easy,� Lamaster said. �It�s so easy to get ahead of yourself thinking about conference and sectional (titles). We have to take it one match at a time.�
BREMEN
The Lions ended 2002 with an 11-4 mark and tied Triton atop the NSC. That task might be a difficult one to repeat.
Coaches Karen and Jerry Smith enter this season minus two singles players and half of their doubles teams.
�Our first two matches are conference matches,� Jerry said. �Our main problem is we have to have our lineup pretty well set (by then).�
Senior Katie Mann will be the best player in that lineup again, returning to her No. 1 singles spot. Seniors Julie Hueni, Kelly Hudson and Kristi Niere will move to varsity this year.
�It�s always a challenge how they (JV players) do whenever they get on the varsity,� Jerry said. �You always like to improve.�
Bremen�s main goal will be to find combinations that give it the best opportunity to score.
�We usually work doubles around and see how they play together. The other singles will have to fight it out. We might move doubles (players) to singles spots so we can find three points,� Jerry said. �There probably won�t be too many 5-0 matches. It�s a toss-up whenever people don�t have varsity experience.�
KNOX
There has probably never been a more deceiving 1-15 record than Knox's mark last year. An injury to then-No. 1 player Erin Kroft forced coach Dick Wagner to juggle his lineup, and forced some of his players into tough positions.
�Erin�s injury put us behind a little bit,� Wagner said.
The Redskins should catch up in 2003. While Kroft has departed, Wagner welcomes back four seniors. Ashli Wentz will now get to play a full year at No. 1 singles, and Andrea Binkley will play No. 2. Sarah Kingsbury and Lindsay Williams return for a second year at No. 1 doubles.
�Having a year of doubles experience under your belt is always helpful. We�re counting on the seniors to pull in some points for us this year. We�re looking for good things out of them,� Wagner said.
Wagner has a strong contingent of underclassmen as well, including sophomores Brittany Estok and Nicole Marsh, last season�s No. 2 doubles tandem.
�They�ll probably be in the mix some place,� he said.
There a lot of ingredients to stir. Wagner has 21 girls on the team, which has allowed him to add a �C� squad, along with new assistant coach Jake Skelly.
�Jake came to us as both a high school and college coach,� Wagner said. �We�ll be letting him work with the doubles pairs and I�ll be working with singles.�
Knox will be working toward better results, and as long as they stay healthy, the Redskins should have much more success.
�I think we�ll be relatively solid,� Wagner said. �I don�t think we�ll have any super-weak spots.�
NORTH JUDSON
The only thing girls tennis coach Scott Bowersock knows as he begins his first stint as girls� coach is that there is a lot he doesn�t know.
�I have one returning player. I really don�t know what I�ve been dealt,� he said.
By tennis standards, Bowersock has been dealt a rather large roster (25 girls, including 13 freshmen). It may take a while for him to shuffle the deck, but he isn�t complaining.
�(Having numbers) is always a great problem to have,� he said. �(With sports like softball and track) it�s tough to get girls out.�
Most of the upperclassmen played on a successful JV squad last year, and Bowersock hopes he can use that as a solid foundation.
�I think they (the varsity) only won one match last year,� he said. �I�m teaching them basic tennis fundamentals, the basic tennis strategy.�
Bowersock would like to see his instruction lead to a few victories.
�If we can sneak in four or five wins, with the inexperience we have, that�s something to build upon,� he said. �I�m really excited about their enthusiasm. I think a lot of people are excited about playing for a young coach and learning about the whole tennis game.�
Seniors Stephanie Morton, Alyse Vorm and Rachel Zima will play significant roles for the Bluejays.
�The girls are looking forward to getting out on the courts and playing,� Bowersock said. �My goal is to establish a program here at North Judson. It�s going to be a rebuilding year, but it doesn�t mean we can�t be successful.�
JOHN GLENN
The good news for the Falcons is that they were competitive in many matches last year.
The bad news is that most of the 2002 team will not be back.
�Last year, we had a lot of �2-3� losses,� coach Jill Groves said. �We just have two varsity players returning this year. We�re going to be a young team.�
Senior Katie Harness and sophomore Stephanie Futa were partners at No. 1 doubles, but will move up to singles this season.
�We�re thinking singles (for those two),� Groves said. �We have a lot of kids stepping up to varsity from JV.�
Junior Stephanie Cassidy and sophomore Kara Jackson may have the most immediate impact.
�Stephanie and Cassidy will be able to come up. We�re kind of putting them together,� Groves said. �I�m optimistic that the younger kids will be stepping up their games this year.�
Groves hopes Glenn can win half its matches and maybe even pull off a couple surprises.
�The attitudes have been very positive. They�re working well together and helping each other out,� she said. �They�re a very fun team.�
LAVILLE
The Lancers will start from square one after losing four seniors from last season�s team that went 7-7.
�I�m not going to expect a whole lot,� coach Randy Romer said. �We lost a very dominant senior class. It makes for a very young team.�
Seniors Alex Boyd, Beth Shamo and Rachel Wicks are LaVille�s most experienced returnees.
�We�re trying to find a good fit for those three,� Romer said.
Romer will also try to find ways for juniors Amanda Huggett and Amanda Conrad, and freshman Stephanie Beron to help complement the veterans.
�The girls� attitudes is the biggest thing I�ve seen,� Romer said. �They�re willing to put time in and learn the game of tennis. That�s all I ask out of this group.�
CULVER ACADEMY
Culver Academy�s team will have bit of international flavor. Four players on the Eagles� roster hail from foreign countries.
�It�s almost like the United Nations,� coach Tom Steffen said.
The newest addition to Steffen�s squad could be the best player from any nation he�s ever had at the school. Bulgarian transfer Lora Dushanova will step into the No. 1 singles spot as a sophomore.
�We didn�t pursue her at all,� Steffen said. �She�s hands down the best athlete we�ve seen in years.�
Steffen didn�t know about Dushanova�s tennis prowess until watching her win a tournament in Washington, D.C. last year.
�She�s an incredibly gifted tennis player,� he said. �She is head and shoulders above anything we�ve seen. It may be work for her opponents to get a couple sets off her this year.�
Seniors Andrea Balan (Romania) and Annie Green, and sophomore Maia Tountcheva (Bulgaria) return for the Eagles, who also welcome freshman Liz Kinsey (Columbus, Indiana) and first-year junior Krystell Krupp (Honduras).
�Krystell hasn�t played competitive tennis for two or three years,� Steffen said. �She�s a little rusty. She�ll be making a nice contribution by the end of the season.�
Despite Dushanova�s presence, Steffen still has to replace his No. 1 doubles duo and figure out how to win points at both doubles positions. He hopes the Eagles can finish .500 or slightly better.
�We play schools that are bigger and better than us,� he said. �I don�t think it�s going to be a very easy year.�
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