NEW PALESTINE — As New Palestine senior Erza Schwier cooled down after winning his No. 1 singles match in straight sets Wednesday night, he pondered the future.
Schwier also reflected on the past.
As the defending No. 1 singles Hancock County champion, Schwier remembers how close the Dragons were a year ago at halting Mt. Vernon’s run towards back-to-back county team titles.
Schwier also recalled which program dominated the county tournament for multiple years prior to the Marauders’ recent two-year stretch.
“Ever since last year, we’ve been wanting to get another shot because it was a tough loss,” Schwier said. “We have a really strong team this year. We’re really tight-knit. We’re really close, so we’re looking to come back and hopefully get the title this year.”
Prior to Wednesday, the Dragons had picked up three wins and suffered only two losses — against defending Hoosier Heritage Conference champion Delta, 4-1, and Whiteland, 3-2.
Behind Schwier’s hard-fought 6-3, 6-0 win against Greenfield-Central junior Matt Hyre on Wednesday, the Dragons seized a fourth victory, 3-2, over the Cougars, and they are gaining momentum.
“It was a lot closer than that score showed. It was a battle that first set, but I was getting stronger as the match went on,” Schwier said. “I’m just going out, doing the best I can, trying to really take advantage of easy balls and just kind of trusting my shot more and not really playing it safe all the time. Getting out of my comfort zone and playing to my full potential.”
Potential is the key word for the Dragons (4-2), along with chemistry, which was highlighted by seniors in every singles spots throughout the lineup and three more at doubles against the Cougars (2-2).
New Palestine secured points at both No. 1 and 2 singles in addition to No. 2 doubles to improve its HHC record to 2-1 so far this season.
“We’re really trying to build a different culture with positivity, building each other up. That’s the most important thing. Playing together while also getting the win,” Schwier said.
The Dragons aren’t taking the easy road either.
They opened the season with a 4-1 victory over Greensburg on Aug. 16 before falling to Whiteland the next day. Their first HHC win came against Yorktown, 4-1, at home, then came the loss at Delta this past Monday.
On Tuesday, the Dragons won 4-1 over visiting Franklin Community and after knocking off the Cougars, they are now riding a two-match winning streak.
During last year’s county tournament, the Dragons finished second behind Mt. Vernon while the Cougars were third despite having four in the championship finals.
On Saturday, Sept. 11, when the next county tournament chapter is written at New Palestine, things could look different.
“We have to get sharper. We have to cut down on our unforced errors, but we’re deep. We’re very deep. We’re very experienced, but it’s going to be a battle at county,” New Palestine head coach Jean Graham said. “We better bring our A-game because we can’t make errors or not very many.”
While far from flawless, the Dragons were efficient against the Cougars.
Senior Colin Darley won at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2, over Greenfield-Central sophomore Caden Robertson, who was subbing in for an injury.
The Dragons also earned a point at No. 2 doubles as seniors Clayton Wesley and Devon Bird defeated Cougars’ senior Casey Hunt and sophomore Chris Long, 7-5, 6-1.
The most vocal match of the evening came at No. 1 doubles where 2020 county runner-ups Corbin Tilley and Jack Weidner, G-C seniors, bested New Palestine’s Jackson Havel, a senior, and Moses Hayes, a freshman, 6-4, 6-4.
“That was a great match at 6-4, 6-4. They were very competitive. I thought my freshman, Moses (Haynes), he became a sophomore tonight,” Graham said. “That was a loud match, and he had not seen that. Normally, we don’t play that loud, but it was very good experience for him.”
The Dragons’ confidence, even in defeat, elevated from their recent loss at Delta where Haynes and Havel won 6-1, 6-2.
“Delta has been the powerhouse for the last 20 years. We’re the last team to beat them, three years ago, and in the last 20 years, we’re the only team to beat them,” Graham said. “But, we won one (match) there and we were in the hunt in two others, and we just came up short, but it was definitely a competitive match. We even had (Delta coach) Tim Cleland out there coaching big time. That is a compliment.”
The Cougars were aiming to hand the Dragons another HHC loss but just fell short.
Greenfield-Central opened the season 2-0 with a 3-2 win over Lawrence Central and a 4-1 victory over Lapel before losing to Rushville 3-2 on Monday.
Sophomore CJ Michalek secured the Cougars’ second point with a 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-10, tug-of-war at No. 3 singles against Dragons’ senior Zach Au.
“Obviously, that’s the goal (winning county), but we have some things we need to work on though,” Turpin said. “We definitely had some very golden opportunities tonight to take some first sets. Obviously, three singles came back and won in a third set, so that’s good. But, we backed off in the first set at two doubles and we had it. We need to learn how to finish strong as well. If so, we’re talking a much closer match when it’s all said and done.”
The Cougars will face HHC foe host New Castle on Friday in a match that was rescheduled from its original date of Tuesday, Aug. 24. They host Delta on Tuesday.
“We beat Lapel, 4-1, last year, and we did it again this year, so having some of those seniors last year leave our team and then still get the same result was a big motivation for us. That was nice,” Turpin said.
“(New Pal) beat us, so obviously, they should be feeling confident, but we know what we’re capable of, and I feel confident in it as well. I think (county is) 100 percent open, but I don’t know.”
The Dragons are hoping to answer that question for certain in a few weeks.
“We’ve had some tough matches,” Graham said. “It’s going to pay dividends. We don’t play a soft schedule, and the boys like that. We might not have a 20-2 record, but we’re going to be stronger in the end.”
