FORTVILLE — Lydia Ruegsegger tried to serve up a smile initially, but the tears began to fall before she could even find the words.
Honored prior to Mt. Vernon’s home tennis match with Hoosier Heritage Conference rival New Palestine on Monday, Ruegsegger warmly recalled her former (JTT) Junior Team Tennis coach, Matthew Dziadosz, and his life, while openly sharing her heartfelt appreciation for being a part of it.
Ruegsegger, a Mt. Vernon senior, was selected as the inaugural Matthew Dziadosz Memorial Scholarship award winner Monday, receiving a $500 contribution to go towards her pursuits at Grace College this fall where she will continue her tennis career.
Dziadosz, 51, passed away on April 11, 2020, and was a member of the United State Tennis Association and the JCC Tennis program in Indianapolis where Ruegsegger first met her eventual JTT mentor.
“The scholarship is for Matt,” Ruegsegger remarked while wiping tears from her eyes. “It started at JCC (Tennis). We met him there when I actually, really started training. I was maybe 9, and his son, Sam, who is two years younger than me; they were the ones who first introduced us to JTT, so he was my coach for years.”
The families grew close over the years, Ruegsegger reminisced, noting the support of Dziadosz, his wife, Shannon, and son. His unexpected passing was extremely difficult for Ruegsegger and her family upon hearing of his fatal heart attack during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lock down.
“That was really rough for everyone on the (JTT) team because of COVID. We couldn’t be with each other, so that was really tough,” Ruegsegger said. “I know it was especially hard on Shannon because even in the hospital, they weren’t allowed to go see him. It was really tough.”
Along with her mother, Leslie, and her maternal grandfather, Moises, who started the Ruegsegger family tennis tradition, Lydia also credits Dziadosz for her on-going success, which made the pre-match ceremony even more special for the Marauders’ team captain.
“I always remember one of the tips he gave me on my serve. I was struggling for a bit one time, and he told me, ‘You look like a tree. You look like you’re falling down,’” Ruegsegger recalled with a laugh. “That always sticks with me and I always think of that. Little things like that.
“We still miss him, but our (JTT) team has tags, we’re all-in for him. This feels really good because I’m kind of carrying a part of him into college with me. It means a lot.”
Ruegsegger showed her gratitude with her play after the on-court presentation, scoring a 6-0, 6-0 win over New Palestine’s Mia Knopp at No. 1 singles for the Marauders.
The first to leave the court, Ruegsegger’s win set the Marauders’ sixth consecutive victory in motion, ending with a 5-0, not-so-easy sweep over the Dragons.
The visiting Dragons (7-6), who were coming off a 1-2 finish at the Franklin Invitational on Saturday, challenged the defending Hancock County champion Marauders, taking one match to three sets and scoring several other key, early first-set points.
New Palestine swept Southwestern, Edinburgh and Lawrence Central since the beginning of May and bounced back from a third-place finish at the county tournament on April 23 with a 3-2 win over HHC foe Greenfield-Central on April 27.
“I’m working with six freshmen and a senior, so the future is bright at New Pal. It just takes time. None of the girls take lessons. None of them play tournaments, so it’s a work in progress, but you come in here and they have three seniors that are seasoned. These girls are learning, but we took them to three sets, and this is the county champion,” New Palestine head coach Jean Graham said.
“It’s frustrating because we’re so close, but we’ll get over the hump. You just keep building on it. We have a great group of girls, and we’re trying to change the culture and get things better. It’s just going to take time.”
Through the first sets, the Dragons made the Marauders (11-1) a little uneasy.
Carly Wilkerson battled to win at No. 2 singles over Olivia Hasenkamp, 6-3, 6-2, while Mt. Vernon’s Hannah Smith outlasted Courtney Johnson at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 6-5.
The Marauders’ No. 2 doubles team of Maddie Swingle and Anna Hawks defeated Lily Haeberle and Josephine Harvey, 6-4, 6-2, but the scores didn’t indicate the anxiety felt around the court.
“At the end of the day, your record says what you are, and at the end of the day, we won 5-0. That’s what we should have done. Was it a very pretty, easy win? No. It was awful, but we found a way to get there, and that’s the first time we’ve had that in a long time,” Mt. Vernon head coach Gabe Muterspaugh said.
“We knew, it’s New Pal, and they’re gunning. They’ve had a great run since county, and then we haven’t practiced really since Thursday, and then Lydia’s scholarship and our girls really didn’t get the focus in, and that’s on us, but at the end of the day, we pulled it out. That’s a sign of a strong character team.”
As usual, it starts at the top with Ruegsegger, who won improved to 15-0 on the season with her straight-set victory.
“It was even me, too. I was not at my top tier today, so as a team today, collectively, we could have done better, but like (Gabe) said, it’s that fight, that grit that gets us through the day,” Ruegsegger said.
Ruegsegger’s example carried over and was showcased at No. 1 doubles where Lexi Shelton and Ceci Bulmahn were forced to go three sets against Abby Blachly and Lucy Miller.
The Marauders duo lost the first set 6-7 (1) before clawing back 7-5 in the second.
Mt. Vernon (11-1) was relying on the No. 1 doubles’ team point, especially with its No. 2 doubles tandem still adjusting after the loss of Anna Isger, who is out for the reminder of the season due to injury.
“We’re still trying to find that doubles two chemistry with Isger going out. That was a big loss because she was a huge part of our team and she means a lot to us, still,” Muterspaugh said.
Shelton and Bulmahn dug deep and dominated in the third set to seal the sweep, 6-2.
“In three weeks (at sectional), we might be a little bit tougher. We’ll try. We’ll see what happens, but I think our girls are getting better,” Graham said. “It’s just a learning process.”
For Ruegsegger, she’s enjoying the journey of the season, in her own way, and with Dziadosz in her heart.
“You talk about all the things we want Mt. Vernon to encompass and Lydia is all that. Passionate. Great teammate. Caring of others. Work ethic. That’s the drive. You can see how much passion she has for the game, and for other people to recognize that outside of our little world of Hancock County it’s a huge honor for her, and she’s very, very deserving,” Muterspaugh said. “She deserves every honor that she’s going to get.”
