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Greencastle topples South Putnam to open boys' tennis season
A warm Wednesday evening on the courts at Greencastle was the backdrop for the boys’ tennis season opener for both the hosts and South Putnam.
Shorthanded on the evening, the Eagles conceded No. 3 singles from the start and while having a better showing on several courts in the second set, including taking the match at No. 1 doubles to three sets, the Tiger Cubs would start the year with a win, sweeping through for a 5-0 win.
“We moved our No. 1 doubles to No. 2 doubles and our two No. 3 singles players, who we will rotate throughout the season, and put them together No. 1 doubles,” Greencastle head coach Annette Munoz said about the lineup on the opening day with the vacancy left at No. 3 singles. “They figured it out in the end.”
“A lot of today was about a lack of experience at the varsity level,” South Putnam head coach Johnnie Briones said. “A lot of these guys impressed me with how they came back.
“They didn’t just give up. Obviously, nerves got the best of them early in the match but the guys know what to expect now, seeing some things in their ground strokes and serves they need to fix.
“The most important thing for me was them being aggressive,” Briones added. “At times, they looked a little too passive but once we settled down, we started being a little more aggressive and start winning some points.”
Holton Miller secured the first point on the courts for the home side, defeating Trystan Smithers at No. 1 singles 6-1, 6-0.
“Holton is smooth right now,” Munoz said. “His spacing from the ball, shot selection, execution and velocity on strokes when needed were all good.
“He finished points early and played very well today.”
Across all four courts in action, Greencastle held sway early with no set closer than 6-2.
The trend did not hold up as well on the other three course as South Putnam showed signs of life in the second set.
Jacob Beadles and Steven Theis briefly led 2-1 in the second set at No. 2 doubles against Tiger Cub pair Andrew Adams and Evan Harris before the latter closed the match with five-straight points, winning 6-1, 6-2, to secure the team win.
Eli Hardwick built a solid lead in the second set over Tanner Smithers following a 6-2 first set win but had to hold off a late rally from the younger Smithers, finishing with a 6-4 close to the match at No. 2 singles.
“Having a senior at No. 2 singles really helped,” Munoz said about Hardwick. “He’s had a lot of matches like that; he was Mr. Three-Setter last year.
“He always played the longest matches and told me today he made a New Year’s resolution to do everything in his power to finish matches in two sets this year. He’s got a good start, even if he had a close start, he focused enough to close it out.”
Logan Starks and Ben Teipen went one better, winning the second set over Jacob Carter and Jay Glotzbach to set up a third set.
Carter and Glotzbach, both of whom would be looking at singles action on another night, settled back down and finished the job for Greencastle, winning the third set in short order to claim the match 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.
“They knew what their struggles were and they stepped up and did much better with those strokes in the third set,” Munoz said about the effort of Carter and Glotzbach. “”Less mistakes, more focus and they found a way.”
“Kudos to coach Munoz as she does a great job with her kids as they’re ready to go,” Briones added. “I always expect that form her teams and we just need to be ready to step up and play.”
Both squads had short turnarounds as the Tiger Cubs traveled to Speedway and the Eagles headed to South Vermillion Thursday with both matches having begun at 5 p.m.