Receiving individual awards at the Trinity tennis banquet at Kovener’s Korner last week were Drew Hubbard, Sarah Lemming and Kiley Zabel.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
The Trinity Lutheran girls tennis team had an informal gathering at Kovener’s Korner last Wednesday to celebrate the Cougars 2022 tennis season.
Each player was handed a “T” award, which is a varsity letter for competing on the team this past spring.
The Cougars had two seniors this past season, Sarah Lemming and Ella Christopher. Since Lemming had played every year prior to this, she earned a senior award.
Then head coach Julie Lemming handed out three individual awards.
The first was the most improved player award, which went to Drew Hubbard. Hubbard played two singles for Trinity all season long and wound up with an overall record of 11-4.
Hubbard played three singles in her freshman season and also won the most improved award that year. Her growth each and every season has been evident on the court, and she’ll have a chance to be the Cougars’ No. 1 player next spring.
The second award was the Cougar Award, which is awarded to the player who best represents Trinity off and on the court and plays good, competitive, respectful tennis.
That went to sophomore Kiley Zabel. Zabel was a steady presence at No. 1 doubles for Trinity this past season. There were times where the Cougars needed to move players around, but Zabel was always someone they could count on to help lead at doubles.
The final award was the most valuable player, and that went to Sarah Lemming. The senior played one singles for her third straight season (would’ve been four if not for COVID-19), and she finished with an overall record of 11-4.
Lemming and Hubbard both made The Tribune’s all-county tennis team.
Trinity had a slow start to the season due to numerous players competing in tennis for the first time and a plethora of weather cancellations, but toward the final stretch of the year, the coaching staff felt Trinity started playing some really good tennis.
The Cougars rallied with some wins at the end of the year to finish with an above .500 record at 9-8. Although two key contributors in Lemming and Christopher are graduating, Trinity still has a solid amount of players who could come back for next year, and Julie Lemming encouraged them to do so.
Trinity also just wrapped up its first youth tennis camp last week. It was an opportunity to help grow the program, and Lemming and boys head coach Kable Walton were pleased with how it went.
To view a picture of the Cougars’ tennis camp, check out the inside of today’s Tribune.
