Wabash High School

Wabash Tennis loses Season Opener 0-5 to Madison Grant The Apache Netters traveled to Madison Grant to square off in a non-conference matchup for both teams. The perfect weather served as a nice backdrop for some competitive tennis. The experience of the Argyll team was evident as 5 of the 7 varsity players were seniors, making for a tough matchup for the young Apaches with only 3 varsity returning players. Eli Mattern filled the 1 singles spot for Wabash, only his third appearance at the top spot on his career. The confidence and experience of Luke Gilman was the difference in this match ending in a 0-6, 2-6 loss for Mattern. Gilman came out strong controlling the points with his trademark spin returns, sending Mattern scrambling point after point. In the second set, Mattern was able to level up, with many games going to deuce, and picking up two games. Coach Mattern shared, "This was actually a great match for Eli. Gilman has been the 1 singles player at MG for the past two seasons, and both seasons has had great success as an individual and lead a very successful team. Eli can build from this experience to grow as a player moving forward." Cooper Long, playing at two singles, had the match of the night for the Apaches. Both Long and Pax (MG) struggled to hold serve in the first set ending in a 3-6 loss for Long. Set two, both players began to find more rhythm as the set progressed leading some long rallies and clutch shot making. The players exchanged leads through the first few games, ultimately leading to Pax needing to hold serve to win the match. A highly competitive last game ended with Pax taking the second set 6-4 over Long for the win. "Cooper played extremely well against an opponent that was very evenly matched. Coming off of a hand injury that limited Cooper's ability to prepare fully for the season, I am extremely pleased with his effort and shot making. Cooper will be a very important piece of our success as a team this year." Coach Mattern Making his varsity singles debut, Ashton Coffman played at the 3 singles spot. Ashton worked to solve the puzzle presented by his opponents shot making ability, but ultimately fell to Luke Nelson 2-6, 2-6. "Ashton will win a lot this year at 3 singles." said Coach Mattern. When you compete as a senior for some reason the confidence tends to go through the roof. We have seen that confidence in practice and look forward to Ashton playing at that level in matches." In the doubles matches, Wabash fielded two teams new to varsity and the doubles game itself at both 1 and 2 dubs. Dylan Pence and Clay Sheppler played their first varsity match at 1 doubles losing to Madison Grant 1-6, 2-6. At 2 dubs TJ Tracy and Karson McKenzie, playing in his career tennis match lost 0-6, 2-6. Coach Mattern stated; "Doubles is a completely different game with unique nuances in communication and movement for tennis that takes time to master. I am proud of these four young men for hitting the courts today with the intentions of learning and getting better. This season will be fun as we watch them grow in the doubles game and tennis in general." Madison Grant serves as a great opening match for the Apaches. Each year MG fields a strong senior lead team affording the Apaches an opportunity see where they want to be and what areas they need to work on in practice moving into the TRC Conference schedule. The team is now 0-1 on the season and heads to the Fremont Invite on Saturday.