GREENFIELD — Behind his blue Cougars’ mask, Greenfield-Central tennis coach Michael Turpin was smiling wide Wednesday night.
Since he officially took over the boys tennis program in 2016, his Cougars had never beaten rival New Palestine during the regular season or postseason.
The Cougars came close in 2016, falling to the Dragons, 3-2, in the sectional finals, so after his team rolled through the evening’s first four matches en route to a 4-1 victory, Turpin couldn’t help but pull his mask outwards and grin ever so slightly.
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“Selfishly, on my side, it felt fantastic because this is the first year we’ve actually beaten New Pal. So 4-1 and one singles coming down to a third set, I think it was a good showing for our team and their confidence,” Turpin said.
The Cougars’ swagger is skyrocketing after a 2-0 start to the 2020 season and now back-to-back Hoosier Heritage Conference wins to put the team at 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the league.
On Monday, the Cougars narrowly lost 3-2 to Rushville in a non-conference match, and the next day, they regrouped to defeat HHC foe New Castle 4-1.
In their third match in three days, the Cougars refused to let up, especially at No. 2 doubles where seniors Nick Grandstaff and Garrett Neumeister still remain unbeaten on the year.
“It definitely gets the morale up. We went 3-2 in conference last year, and we’re already up 2-0, so it’s a good start,” Grandstaff said. “Our team is a lot louder this year. We’re just a lot better this year.”
The tandem won 6-3, 6-3 at New Castle, and the pattern held true at home against New Palestine with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Jackson Havel and Massiah Kent-Brooks.
“New Pal was the first step, and the next step is Mt. Vernon,” Neumeister said. “That’s all we’re really focused on right now, is New Pal and Mt. Vernon because they’re in our sectional and they’re the teams we hate to lose to the most. That’s why this one feels really nice.”
Last year, Mt. Vernon won the Hancock County Tournament team title for the first time in school history and knocked off Greenfield-Central 5-0 in the sectional semifinals before defeating New Palestine 3-2 in the finals.
Grandstaff and Neumeister hope to do their part in turning the tables with county two weeks away, and a dual with the Marauders a few days prior.
“We’re 5-0 right now, so it’s going right now,” Neumeister said. “We’re pretty strong in the two doubles category, I’d say because we’ve played some tough people and we’ve went through them all.”
Robbie Dye gave G-C another point at No. 2 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Caleb Davis. Matt Hyre beat New Pal’s Zach Au in two sets 6-3, 6-3 at three singles.
The Cougars’ No. 1 doubles team of Jack Weidner and Corbin Tilley, a pair of juniors, won 6-3, 6-1 over Devon Birch and Clayton Wesley.
“It’s the energy for us. If we’re down, then we start offering positive thoughts and bring each other up, and it really elevates our game,” Neumeister said. “We’re ready. This year is going to be a good year for us. I’m very confident when I say that.”
The Dragons fell to 0-3 in the HHC and 1-5 overall after losses to Delta and Yorktown, but bounced back on Tuesday with a 3-2 win over Franklin Community. No. 1 singles player Ezra Schwier clinched the win on Tuesday, and he came through for Dragons with the lone point against the Cougars.
Schwier won 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 against Carson Gibson, who played his third straight third-set match this week.
“We’re definitely going through some learning curves right now. We have a lot of new people in new positions and we have three boys out with COVID. If you take the quarterback, the running back and kicker off your football team, it makes a difference, so it’s really messed up our doubles,” New Palestine head coach Jean Graham said.
“Greenfield played well, but we didn’t have our strength here. They’re playing though, but we just have to get better.”
The Cougars have the same goal in mind with perennial HHC power Delta next on Tuesday on the road, and Mt. Vernon on Tuesday, Sept. 8 before county on Saturday, Sept. 12 after a meeting with Knightstown on Thursday, Sept. 10.
“Every single player out here, from top to bottom, we’re just happy to be playing. Every night, we’re just having fun, and it’s fun to coach a team that’s enjoying what they’re doing,” Turpin said.
“We’re always trying, working towards that next level, and tennis goes in swings. Different schools have their strong years, and obviously Mt. Vernon is on a pretty great run right now. We play them in a couple of weeks. It will be fun to get ready for that. There’s nothing more fun than conference and inter-county opponents.”
