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GHS wins fourth straight girls’ tennis sectional
Winning is a habit, as coach Vince Lombardi liked to remind his Green Bay Packers.
Coach Annette Munoz-Thede and the Greencastle Tiger Cubs have made winning habitual each spring, so much so that no current member of the Greencastle girls’ tennis program has played on a varsity team that failed to win a sectional title.
GHS made it four sectional titles in a row on Thursday evening, defeating Martinsville 5-0 to win Sectional No. 2 and move to 20-3 on the season.
The four seniors took a few moments afterward to reflect on what they’ve been a part of these four years.
Sophie Riggle, half of an all-senior No. 1 doubles team, noted that while winning sectional has become normal for the Tiger Cubs, it’s anything but common.
“Even though it’s all we’ve known since we’ve been in high school, it’s also been a lot of hard work,” Riggle said. “And it wasn’t always easy, especially sophomore year after we lost a lot of seniors, and we had to build up our team again. Now we’re the seniors, and hopefully we’ve left the underclassmen a good example to carry on the tradition.”
Riggle and partner Bella Monnett defeated the Artesian team of Sara Giles and Libby Hedrick 6-0, 6-1.
“As far as sectional wins go, we’re the only spring team that won sectional every year, so it’s really special for us to get to come out and be a pretty constant champion in our school,” Monnett said. “Even though we don’t get that much recognition, we’re pretty proud of ourselves.”
Meanwhile, fellow senior Liberty Amis and partner Lauren Dibble were also 6-0, 6-1 winners over Emily Martin and Cheyanne Hardin.
“I really enjoyed getting to play these four years and glad that we got a win, and hopefully we can win regionals,” Amis said.
Playing at No. 2 singles, senior Maddie Landry took the long view, looking at where the program has been and where she believes it’s headed.
“It means a lot to us seniors and to the whole team,” Landry, who defeated the Artesians’ Addie Dean 6-0, 6-0, said. “We’ve just worked so hard together for the last four years, and we’ve had some really good upperclassmen to look up to. And now we have a lot of good underclassmen who we know that when we leave they’re still going to be here, and they’re still going to have that good tennis background to keep carrying Greencastle to success.”
For the future, she need look no further than her fellow singles players, as sister Allie Landry, a sophomore, was another 6-0, 6-0 winner against Kathryn Jackson, while junior Addie Fowler was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at No. 3 over Nora Collins.
It’s a special group that has accomplished some special things, facts that are not lost on coach Munoz-Thede.
“It’s been great to see the four seniors grow from young players and develop into the leaders they are today,” the coach said. “They all just played so strong and confidently. Just to see them continue to have such exemplary sportsmanship and drive to do well for the team. They care a lot about each other.”
She noted the sportsmanship across the board in this new four-team sectional, touting the quality of people she saw on the Martinsville, Mooresville and South Putnam teams.
Munoz-Thede was also proud of her team’s ability to remain focused.
“Sometimes you can get in a situation where you play like your opponent, and we’ve had that in the past,” Munoz-Thede said. “And to see these girls stay strong with their gameplay and their strengths and to see them finish so well throughout all the sets, throughout all the matches, it’s just impressive, and we’re excited for next week.”
Next week holds a rematch with Terre Haute South on Tuesday in the first round of the Terre Haute North Regional. The Tiger Cubs dropped a 3-2 decision to the Braves in a tournament in mid-April.
“Gearing up for Terre Haute South — we’ve seen them the last four years, once a year, at a tournament in Terre Haute,” Munoz-Thede said. “We’ve never seen them this time of year, and we’re really excited. We are playing at the level we need to be to be very competitive with them. We know they’re a good team, but we’re ready to play up, we’re ready to play hard. We know we’re going to need our best tennis, and I have no question that it’s going to be a very competitive match.”
Munoz-Thede also expressed her gratitude this season for the volunteer assistance of coach Scott Riggle, who happens to be Sophie’s dad.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with Scott Riggle, who recently retired from DePauw University as the head coach for many, many years,” Munoz-Thede said. “He’s now volunteering on many teams, including the men and women at DePauw, the girls here, and he’s wanting to help out next year with the boys. He’s just got such a love for tennis and such a good spirit that you can see it in the girls and see how much they respect him. He’s such an asset to this group that has, I believe, brought us to another level of tennis and another level of love for the game.
“It’s been a lot of fun to work with him, and I’m grateful he’s my friend.”
Fun … even through all the intensity of tournament season, that seems to be something the Tiger Cubs are keeping at the center of their experience this season, using it as a reprieve from the pressure of finals and graduation and whatever else may be on their minds.
“I think that tennis is so fun. It’s a really big stress reliever for sure, going into finals,” Monnett said. “It’s just fun to come out here and talk to my friends, laugh a little and forget about school for a little bit.”
In Riggle’s mind, tennis is what keeps her centered.
“It’s kind of like the only constant in my life right now with everything changing and getting ready for college, and finals are different this year because I’m a senior,” Riggle said. “But tennis, I’ve done this for all four years now, so I feel like every time I go to practice or a match, I know how it’s gonna go. It’s kind of relaxing having this right now.”
At Greencastle
IHSAA Girls Tennis Sectional No. 2
Final
Greencastle 5, Martinsville 0
Singles: A. Landry (G) def. Jackson (M) 6-0, 6-0; M. Landry (G) def. Dean (M) 6-0, 6-0; Fowler (G) def. Collins (M) 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Riggle/Monnett (G) def. Giles/Hedrick (M) 6-0, 6-1; Amis/Dibble (G) def. Martin/Hardin (M) 6-0, 6-1.