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Earning special honors at the Seymour girls tennis awards banquet was, from left, Elise Hartung, Brooke Schafstall, Emma Woodard and Chantel Wilson.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
The Seymour girls tennis team gathered at Calvary Baptist Church on Wednesday to hold its award banquet for the 2023 season.
It was a season in which the Owls went 14-4, finishing runner-up in the Hoosier Hills Conference, winning its third straight sectional championship and playing in regionals for the third straight season.
Seymour’s four losses came to quality opponents in New Albany, Franklin and Columbus North twice — the second time against the Bull Dogs coming in the regional semifinal.
After holding a meal for players, coaches and family members on Wednesday, head coach Brandon Davis talked a little bit about the season before handing out awards.
He handed out junior varsity and varsity letter winners, and then Davis and his staff had three individual awards to dish out.
The first was the “MVT,” which stands for most valuable teammate. The player who got this award received a big green tennis ball that was signed by everyone on the team.
Davis said this award went to the player that exemplified what it was to be a good teammate, always cheering on others and doing what’s best for the team. The MVT went to senior Chantel Wilson.
The next award was the thumbs up trophy, which stood for the most improved award. This player was given a trophy that was the literal shape of thumbs up. That most improved player went to sophomore Emma Woodard, who Davis thinks went undefeated at the junior varsity level this season.
The third and final award was the MVP award, which took the shape of a goat trophy. For those who don’t know, G.O.A.T stands for greatest of all time. That MVP award was given to senior Brooke Schafstall, who now has the best all-time career record at Seymour with an overall record of 46-14, which has been standing since 2015.
Schafstall has spent the last three seasons playing at No. 1 singles, and to only lose 14 matches in three years was an impressive accomplishment.
Schafstall and Elise Hartung both earned all Hoosier Hills Conference honors and All-District honors. Hartung played at No. 2 singles for the Owls all season.
The whole Seymour varsity team was also academic all-state, finishing with a team GPA of 3.8, which Davis said is one of the more impressive feats his team reached this spring.
The seniors on the roster this past spring were Schafstall, Wilson, Ashley Clemente, Marlo Cornn, Jessica Hougland and Caroline Thompson.
The seniors who were in attendance on Wednesday all gave short speeches, thanking their coaches and teammates and giving words of advice for the younger players on the roster.
Seymour’s sectional is going to look different next season, but the Owls still hope to be competitive and keep their sectional title streak alive next spring.