FORTVILLE — Playing back-to-back for the first time this spring, the Mt. Vernon Marauders girls tennis team didn’t miss a beat.
After a big matchup between two district-ranked teams Wednesday night, which Mt. Vernon won 5-0 against Shenandoah, they did the same to Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent Shelbyville on Thursday, a perfect 5-0 win.
Three matches into 2019, the Marauders are a perfect 3-0, with three flawless 5-0 wins.
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“All these girls are fighting for each other, so yeah, we kind of expect that,” Mt. Vernon coach Gabe Muterspaugh said. “I’m ever the optimist, and we always set goals, and they know we’re going for 5-0. We want 5-0’s every night.”
This year’s Mt. Vernon team has a different-yet-familiar look. Gone are No. 1 singles standout Alaina Nelson and the No. 1 doubles duo of Sophie Williams and Olivia Spicer. The rest of last year’s team is back, but every person is in a new position for 2019.
There’s been no learning curve and no stumble. Mt. Vernon has been rolling since the season started, and that begins at the top with their new No. 1, sophomore Lydia Ruegsegger.
“We’ve had such a long history of great number ones to play for us, and she has stepped up big time,” Muterspaugh said. “In tennis, it’s all about how much work you put in. She’s got full belief in everything she does right now. Someone is going to have to be extremely good to beat her. Knowing every night that we walk on the court, that we almost have an automatic point, makes Kayla (Negley) and I’s job pretty easy.”
Ruegsegger opened up the match against Shelbyville quickly and decisively, getting off the court first with a 6-0, 6-0 win. Two of her sets have been 6-2 wins this season so far. The other four were all 6-0, something she strives for.
“For me personally, it’s more like OK, get out there, get it done, let’s just sweep the floor. Kind of like a chore,” Ruegsegger said. “Get it done, get on, get off the court. I feel like it’s like that for most people, too.”
The No. 2 doubles duo of Lexi Shelton and Maddie Swingle were done next, taking down their Golden Bears opponents by a 6-3, 6-0 score.
Both are new faces to the team this year, with Shelton, a sophomore, missing 2018 with an injury and Swingle being a freshman. They teamed together on the basketball court, winning a sectional title, and are enjoying success early on in their Mt. Vernon tennis careers.
“It’s very different, especially because basketball is obviously my main sport,” Shelton said. “It’s been super fun to bring Maddie out here with me, and just see a different side of ourselves that we don’t see on the basketball court. We really have to fight through adversity in tennis that we really don’t fight through in basketball. It helps us focus, definitely.”
Shelton and Swingle won their first match of the year 6-1, 6-0, but had to come back from a big early deficit against Shenandoah on Wednesday, finally winning 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Thursday night’s win was much smoother.
“I’m extremely happy. We always push to get higher,” Shelton said. “We compete against our number on dubs every day in practice, which helps us play against other schools. I’m super happy with where I’m at right now, especially with me and Maddie being so young in the program. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner or spot on this team.”
The next winner for Mt. Vernon, and sealing the team’s third victory of the year, was new No. 3 singles player Lousia Batge.
Batge, an exchange student from Germany, had never played competitive tennis before joining the Marauders. She, too, has fit right in, and has only dropped three total sets so far this year after Thursday’s 6-0, 6-1 win against Shelbyville.
“It’s been pretty good. They’re all super nice to me and welcoming,” Batge said. “It’s super fun to play with all of them. I never competed before in Germany, so I was pretty excited, but they all calmed me down and encouraged me. I feel really good on this tennis team and really welcomed. These girls feel like family already.”
Maeve Laughlin and Alexis Lane picked up a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles, their closest match of the year, and Kaleigh Helm went to three sets for the second straight night, this time winning in a super-tiebreaker, 6-1, 4-6, 10-7.
Just a week away from hosting the Hancock County meet, the Marauders are rolling, clicking on all cylinders despite welcoming three new faces into the varsity lineup.
The start couldn’t be much stronger, having not lost once at any position, but there is still room for the team to grow if the team wants to defend its county crown.
“The big thing is we try to get the culture of what our mindset is going to be,” Muterspaugh said. “You’ve got to go out there and be confident, not beat yourselves and play Marauder tennis, and they’re starting to get that. That just comes with more experience. I’m happy early, but we have a lot of room to improve.”