The Seymour girls tennis team gathered at the Knights of Columbus on Monday evening to celebrate the successful season the Owls had this spring.
Head coach Sharon Wood opened the banquet with a quote she thought embodied Seymour this season.
Wood said, “Participating in a team sport is not just about playing on the court. Competition breeds a lot of things but one of the most enduring products is inspiration. This season has helped us develop as individuals as well as teammates. We have participated in tough matches with great courage, resiliency, and learned to work together as a team. In ten years, people will not remember your record or your prestige but the relationships and achievements you created as a group. There are special moments that come from being a part of a team, playing a specific role on a team and doing something together.”
This spring, the Owls achieved a lot together.
Seymour finished with a team record of 15-3, outscoring opponents 73-17 in those matches. The Owls won matches in two sets 67 different times throughout the season, limiting the three-set matches to just 7 all season.
En route to 15 wins, the Owls won the Hoosier Hills Conference, won the sectional championship and advanced to the regional finals.
Twelve of Seymour’s 15 wins this season were 5-0 sweeps. One match was a 4-1 win, and the other two were 3-2 victories over Floyd Central and New Albany to win the HHC title.
Wood thanked the parents and families that helped things run smoothly this season, and after she listed off the team accomplishments, she handed out the individual awards for the season.
Brooke Schafstall and Sandy Cerino were given Singles Player of the Year Award. At one singles this year, Schafstall went 15-5 (4-2 conference) and now holds one of the Seymour school records for one singles record in a single season.
Cerino went 15-4 (5-1 conference) at two singles and holds the Seymour school record for best two singles record in a single season.
Schafstall and Cerino both earned HHC All-Conference this season as well. Schafstall was All-District singles and an honorable mention for All-State singles.
Getting the Leadership Award for Seymour was Mallory Moore and Avery Ragon. The duo played one doubles together all season, and Wood commended them for leading the team all season long, starting in January all the way through May.
Moore and Ragon were All-Conference honorable mention for doubles, as well as All-District honorable mention and All-State honorable mention.
The Varsity Mental Attitude Award went to the two doubles team of Madalyn Baurle and Elise Hartung, who posted a record of 19-1 this season. Baurle and Hartung now hold the two doubles record at Seymour as well.
Kirby Hill earned All-Conference honorable mention in singles. Hill played three singles for Seymour, and Wood said it’s rare for a three singles player to be recognized in the conference, but Hill played a pivotal role in Seymour’s success in the postseason.
Hill and Moore both earned Indiana Coaches of Girls Association Academic Awards, and Hill earned Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association Academic Award.
The whole varsity team for the Owls (Schafstall, Cerino, Hill, Moore, Ragon, Baurle, Hartung and Valeria Ramirez) got Team Academic from the IHSECTA. In order to earn that award, Seymour’s team needed to have an average GPA of 3.6, and the Owls had a 3.9.
The coaching staff for the Owls were also named HHC Coaches of the Year. Wood refused to take it as an individual award and credited Bob Wood, Liz Davis and Will Rinehart as well.
The junior varsity team for Seymour went 10-1 season this season, outscoring opponents 71-10.
Ashley Clemente won the Mental Attitude Award for JV, and the 110% Award went out to Jessica Hougland and Carley Sanders.
Even though Seymour is losing a lot of talented seniors (Cerino, Hill, Moore, Ragon, Citlally Ramirez, Ellie Cornn and Sydney Musgrave), Wood is excited for the future because of how much depth and success the JV team had this season.
After enjoying dinner and passing out the awards on Monday, the team gathered to watch a postseason slideshow put together by Dave Hartung. He remixed “Story of My Life” by One Direction into an amusing song about Seymour’s tennis season.
The final thing Wood said to the group was, “How you end one season determines how you start the next season.”
She encouraged her returning players to work hard this offseason so that when the 2022 season rolls around, the Owls can build off what they accomplished this year.