GREENFIELD — Head coach Gabe Muterspaugh and his Mt. Vernon boys tennis team have several tongue-in-cheek phrases they routinely draw from for extra motivation.
On Tuesday night, the Marauders were forced to turn to an old, tried-and-true by “winning ugly” on the road against Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Greenfield-Central, 3-2.
Mt. Vernon claimed victories in two of three singles matches and split the doubles competition to slip past the host Cougars (6-3, 2-2 HHC), which meant the Marauders’ favorite 2020 battle cry of “call grandma” will have to wait for another day.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“Greenfield is much improved, but at the same time, we played absolutely horrible. For us to come out and get the win and not playing our best and coming off Saturday with three matches at Richmond all day, there are all the excuses in the world, but they’re not excuses,” Muterspaugh said.
“You still have to play. And, we knew Greenfield was going to be ready for us, so a win is a win. It’s a good conference win. Are we happy? No, because we know we left a lot out there tonight.”
Last year, the Marauders defeated the Cougars, 4-1, in Fortville during the regular season, surrendering one point at one doubles. Mt. Vernon later cruised to win its first Hancock County Tournament team championship.
With four days until the annual county tournament at New Palestine High School this Saturday, Greenfield-Central looked to narrow the gap, and they nearly pulled off the upset.
The Cougars won at No. 1 singles behind Carson Gibson’s 6-2, 6-0 performance against Mt. Vernon’s Haiden Rose, and the No. 2 doubles tandem of Garrett Neumeister and Nick Grandstaff pulled away from Logan LeRoy and Andrew Jones 6-3, 6-3.
Neumeister and Grandstaff have only one loss on their season record — against HHC powerhouse Delta.
The Cougars challenged the Marauders (10-0, 3-0 HHC) at both No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles, but Mt. Vernon gritted out both to maintain its unblemished season record.
“Obviously, you always want that third, fourth or fifth point, but we knew going in, they have a full senior roster of returning players, and they’re on quite the run right now,” Greenfield-Central head coach Michael Turpin said. “But, we definitely had some spots that could have have went either way across the board.”
At No. 1 doubles, Mt. Vernon’s Dallas Turner and Owen Koon stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Greenfield-Central’s Jack Weidner and Corbin Tilley charged back.
“At one doubles with Owen and Dallas, they were very upset they didn’t win the tournament at Richmond. They got second, so they came out blazing, 5-0, and then they took the foot off the peddle,” Muterspaugh said. “Then, it got into a dogfight. We won 7-5, 6-4, so it was close.”
The same pattern unfolded at two and three singles, but, once again, the Marauders found a way.
Mt. Vernon’s Chris Hays won 7-5, 6-4 over Robbie Dye at two singles, and Joe Bowsher, who is 12-1 this season, held steady 6-3, 7-5 over Matt Hyre at three singles.
“We were up 4-1 in both sets, and Robbie fought back. Our one singles guy had some stomach issues, and Carson took advantage. Joe Bowsher imposed his will (at three singles),” Muterspaugh said. “We told Joe at the beginning of the match that his point was going to be huge for us, and it came down to it that it was.
“We won all of our matches in straight sets, but they could have been really quick. It was a dogfight, and when you’re in a dogfight, you better be the bigger dog. Tonight, we were.”
The loss halted a two-match winning streak for Greenfield-Central, which was coming off of a 5-0 victory over Scecina Memorial on Sept. 2 and a 5-0 win against Morristown Thursday.
The Cougars lost 5-0 to Delta on Sept. 1. They had won four of their last five matches before falling to Mt. Vernon.
“It was a very good match-up, significantly closer than last year’s match, which is good. No matter the result, it’s a good confidence booster for us before county,” Turpin said. “I think it’s fun to play the same team two times in a week.”
With an individual format, the county tournament is points-based as each school’s competitors advance for placement.
Gibson could potentially vie for an individual title at county along with the duo of Neumeister and Grandstaff, who teamed up for the first time this year.
“I think county is going to be fun. I think there’s a lot of talent between every team this year. It’s going to be pretty competitive compared to years past, but when it comes down to it, I like the confidence that a lot of these guys have,” Turpin said. “I think they’re going to want to come out after their loss today.”
Mt. Vernon, which knocked off Greenfield-Central 5-0 in the sectional semifinals in 2019, went back-to-back at the Muncie Burris Invite this season and placed third at this past Saturday’s Richmond Invitational.
LeRoy and Jones won the Richmond Invite at No. 2 doubles, while Turner and Koon were second. Rose placed fourth and Bowsher was third.
Hays, who is 12-1 this year, was fifth despite going 2-1 at the event.
“This win is big from the standpoint that it could have curtailed a lot of things that we’re trying to go for. A conference win, especially against a county foe and a county rival, is a great win anytime,” Muterspaugh said. “Sometimes, you can not be happy with a win, the way you played, but at the end of the day, we told our guys, we’re never going to say it’s pretty when it’s ugly as heck.”
The Marauders will have another chance to “call grandma” (the team’s playful motto after playing well) when they host Lawrence North today at 4:30 p.m.
“(Greenfield-Central) said they wanted us, and they got us. It was close, but no cigar,” Muterspaugh said. “We got a bull’s eye on our back, and rightfully so, and we know that going (into county).
“New Pal is playing better. Eastern is always dying to get in this thing and to battle, and Greenfield, they have a chance to win. I think this year, more than any, even though we’re sitting here at 10-0, it can be anybody’s match, especially if we don’t come ready to go because everyone is gunning for us.”
