Girls Tennis

Rd #1: Trojans 6-0. Nadia Stuart (12) stepped in for her first match at #1s varsity and ended up 5-1 before time (working on depth/net play). Shelby Paberzs (11) and Peyton Bean (11) got up 6-0, 1-1 as time expired (working on FH topspin/hitting serves with pace).
Rd #2: Trojans 6-0. Gabby Croddy (12) went up 3-2 in tightly contested match at #1s, while working on achieving 75% 1st service percentage. Merritt Jaeger (12) & Lilli Mohler (11) took home their #3d match 6-0, 1-0 while working on better positioning on a court and their racket take back on serves.
Rd #3: Trojans 6-0. Monica Szentes (11) was ahead in her #2 singles match, but no official score was reported to coach. She was working on her diamond ready position and following through on her groundstrokes. Avery Bruce (10) and Maria Agostino (10) set a blistering 6-0 round in 20 minutes time while working on hitting with pace and power on their groundstrokes.

The opening match of the year saw the Trojans fall 2-3 in a late night rain delayed match at Lebanon. The good news, the girls learned how to squeegee correctly! We also made the annual stop at Milky Way to celebrate what a great group of gals we have! Nadia Stuart (12) had a tall order against an experienced fellow senior, ultimately falling 0-6, 3-6 in her first varsity match and first match at #1s! Gabby Croddy (12) fought off cramps, but couldn’t get over the hump at 2-6, 5-7 in a match where she hit 10 balls a point. Monica Szentes (11) fought in a strong opening set 3-6, but lost her steam dropping the second set 0-6.
The two wins for the Lady Trojans came at #1d with Shelby Paberzs (11) & Zizi Wuensch (11) digging deep to find themselves in a third set win 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Way to put the pedal to the metal and regroup after the second set, coach is proud! At #2d Peyton Bean (11) & Merritt Jaeger (12) took at commanding 6-2 opening set, and made it a little tense on themselves second set before closing out a 7-5 decision.

Ooohh what aa night, duh dah, duh duh dah dah dah dah! Pike ladies came to play and they put out a strong 1-2-3 singles lineup. Junior Aaralyn Mills was in at #1s and brought her finest game against Nadia Stuart (12). Nadia grinded out a competitive look tonight, but just got outlasted from the baseline 1-6, 0-6. Freshman Nyah Mathis was in at #2s knocked off Gabby Croddy (12) who ran all over the court and them some tonight playing her heart out. Gabby had to retire from cramps at 0-6, 1-2 in the match. Hopefully we get fitness at full speed this season and move beyond any physical ailments! #3s Monica Szentes (11) got off to a 4-3 lead in the first working on topspin and following through, but lost the next 9 games in a 4-6, 0-6 decision.
Shelby Paberzs (11) and Zizi Wuensch (11) had their second three set marathon in just as many matches. The two worked on high service percentage, dominant net play, and despite a minor hiccup in the second, the two cruised to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 dub! #2d Peyton Bean (11) and Merritt Jaeger (12) took home the only decisive win for the Lady Trojans tonight with a 6-0, 6-4 win. Good net play and good communication will see them grow through the season.

Gabby Croddy (12) stepped in at #1s to face off against a tough sophomore. Girl played her heart out, but just couldn’t find the weapons to close points off against a sophomore. Elena Mazzei (12) saw trial by fire in her return to the lineup at #2s. Elena hung around, but the ten day quarantine didn’t help as she dropped a 1-6, 2-6 decision. Avery Bruce (10) got her first shot at a varsity match in a season of firsts!
Shelby Paberzs (11) and Zizi Wuensch (11) played against a very beatable Braves #1d team. We did not take advantage of Brebeuf’s strength only in singles, and fell 2-6, 2-6. We did happen to hit our partner in the head with our serve. Good thing we can’t hit that hard or concussion protocol would be the next step to our girls losing even more PT!

This one sure looked different from our last time facing off. We made it out to Shelbyville again on a Friday night, not Frankie’s favorite night of the week to hit the road to travel far an away match. Maybe the Twisters come to our house next year, whadda ya say coach? #1s of Nadia Stuart (12) sure didn’t represent the score. These girls were three games into their match 45 minutes downhill into the evening. Some long gassing points, lots of dueces, but they did not fall our way dropping a 1-6, 0-6 decision. Gabby Croddy played through cramps, fatigue, blood-sweat-tears, you name it and was the last match off court at #2s ~7:45pm. Dang girl! 4-6, 6-2, 4-10. Long way to ten, but we fell down early and fast in that third set breaker. Mazzei just needed to commit to the four life and get more balls consistently in play. She’ll get there, just needs to believe in herself.
Doubles were on the other side. Shelby Paberzs (11) and Zizi Wuensch (11) are getting more aggressive at the net and growing into their serves, but their opponents proved just a little more consistent at the aggressive net game winners and took home the crown. Peyton Bean (11) and Lilli Mohler (11) rounded out the line up at #2d. Lilli was baptized in her first varsity match ever, and just needs to use those volleys she had in the first two weeks of season to her advantage. Use your height and agility to cross over your opponents and find an angle with those volleys!

They put their best three out at singles and swiftly took care of our three singles players. A heck of a freshman in at #1s for the Eagles. Nadia Stuart (12) did what she could and rose to the occasion as she played the best she has all season. She absolutely made her girl work for it, but about all we could do was play really good defense in a 0-6, 1-6 loss….she will be fun to play against three more years! A second freshman in at #2s, who faced off against Gabby Croddy (12) will be just as fun. Heritage finally had a senior in at #3s, but she took care of Monica Szentes (11) 3-6, 2-6. We need to get Monica across the finish line in a second set.
Shelby Paberzs (11) and Zizi Wuensch (11) took care of business at #1d 6-4, 6-2. These two took the lead out on their serves and net play. Did lots of long to shorts. But, not enough to sway the final W-L column, only their coaches stress column. It will be interesting to see the result of this match if we see them again in City. My money is on our girls, but we won’t be as comfortable doing it next time! Merritt Jaeger (12) and Peyton Bean (11) won in a last match on third set thriller for our second point, but the match was already decided. These two fought down from a 6-7(5) first set deficit, to rally back and pull ahead with a 6-3 and 6-4 win.

#19 Irish swept the Lady Trojans. Gabby Croddy (12) was the only singles player to earn a game across all three courts. Cathedral has a knack for throwing out three phenomenal singles players! #1d Shelby Paberzs (11) / Zizi Wuensch (11) had the closest showing of the night falling 3-6, 2-6. We could see them again in sectional, in three weeks. What are we going to do to get better between now and then? Time will only tell.

Same story, different team. Another stud freshman in for the Wildcats, Issy May! Coach Brad says she’s the best player in LN girls history. She puts LN on the map at #27. Her serve is just beautiful, something all our players need to learn from. No Nadia for her to go up against, instead Gabby Croddy (12) stepped up and took the helm for us. Hands down the strongest player Gabby has seen all year. Avery Laux (10) saw her first varsity match tonight. We all gained valuable experience against a good team.

A tangible victory tonight. We have had different goals for this team all season. This match came at the right time. Six weeks into season and the girls get to celebrate the first team victory. United behind a cause we are, we get better and improve daily.

“Small steps may appear unimpressive, but don’t be deceived. They are the means by which perspectives are subtly altered, mountains are gradually scaled, and lives are drastically changed.”

Warren Central only had five players present at tonights’ match. We are fortunate to have a program leading 22 girls towards our ultimate goals: to find joy in shared experiences, to treat each other with respect, to learn from each other and be better people because of our joint perspectives.

The story of Somebody, Everybody, Nobody, and Anybody came out tonight.

Well, remember how I said COVID has upended us this year? Yeah, that was a harbinger. Little did I know just a week ago that we’d be down two varsity seniors. Also, remember how everyone has a good freshman this year? Franklin was no exception. Gabby Croddy (12) is working on developing weapons, we just need more ways to win points. Her consistency and scrappiness go far, but against heavy hitters, it only goes so far. Shelby Paberzs (11) had to step in at #2s and she was the only singles player to earn a game, falling 0-6, 1-6. Avery Laux (10) and Elena Mazzei (11) played as hard as they could together at #2d for the first time this season. Setting a more dominant tone with net play and higher first serve percentages will get these ladies to the promise land. For now, we celebrate the small joys in life, like winning the first game of the second set!

The huge plus is that we are all playing higher up in the lineup that we could imagine, and with that we gain experience and undergo nerve washing. We are getting all these firsts out of our system so we know how to approach them when we face similar situations again.

United in our pursuit, the ladies enjoy their second winning team effort of the season! It is fun to see the joy in their faces coming off court with wins. This whole time, we’ve emphasized that it’s not the end score that matters. It’s wanting to win that is important, not the act of winning. Wanting to win means they are showing up, putting in the practice, elevating their teammates, practicing to the point of fatigue, and having the confidence to step up when your team calls on you. I ask them every time to walk me through the match and tell me how they did. It’s so nice to not have to even ask scores anymore—they know to not focus on scores instead to focus on what went well and what we wish went better. It’s nice when the cards fall their way and they get to enjoy the fruit of their labor, especially when you’re down two varsity seniors!