Mt. Vernon’s Kylie Brandes listens to Marauders assistant coach Graham McMullen and head coach Gabe Muterspaugh during a break in her Hancock County Tournament singles match at Mt. Vernon High School on Friday, April 22, 2022. (Tom Russo/Daily Reporter)
FORTVILLE — The girls have changed, but the results from the players in Black and Gold have remained the same.
Mt. Vernon won the Hancock County Girls Tennis Championship for the 12th straight time, Friday, at Mt. Vernon High School.
The Marauders won the four-team tournament against their county rivals with 26 total points. New Palestine was second with 14. Greenfield-Central had 11 and Eastern Hancock finished with 9.
“I’m so proud of all of the girls (through the years), but I am so proud of this team,” Mt. Vernon head coach Gabe Muterspaugh said. “The culture that they have seen. Winning breeds winning. It always has. They have a confidence and a belief in what we are trying to do with them as coaches.
“They follow and listen to every word and they take it and try to do it on the court. That means the world to me and (assistant) coach Graham (McMullen). When that happens good things happen.”
Mt. Vernon had players in four of five finals matches and won three.
Though the final team scores may not indicate, going into the finals the potential biggest challenge to the Marauders reign did not come from their neighboring Hoosier Heritage Conference rivals, but from the county’s smallest school, Eastern Hancock.
The Royals had participants in three of five championship matches. Only Mt. Vernon had more in the finals. New Palestine had two and Greenfield-Central had one.
Helping solidify the 12th straight championship, Mt. Vernon won both head-to-head finals matchups against the Royals.
At No. 1 singles, freshman Kylie Brandes beat Eastern Hancock Italian foreign-exchange student Bianca DiVittorio in a third-set super tiebreaker, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.
“We heard all about the girl from Italy, but Kylie Brandes showed that she’s queen of the county as a freshman,” Muterspaugh said. “She showed such poise and moxie. She is an absolute warrior on the court. She chases most balls down that others can’t get. She’s the Energizer Bunny. It’s fun to coach her and I’m glad she’s going to be on Mt. Vernon for the next four years.”
At No. 1 doubles, Marauder seniors Maddie Swingle and Shay Shipley defeated the Eastern Hancock tandem of Savanah Hardin and Lexi Swauger 6-3, 6-4.
Additionally, Mt. Vernon won at No. 2 doubles. Liv Lugo and Addy Lockwood defeated New Palestine’s Lily Haeberle and Bethany Blachly 6-2, 6-4.
At No. 3 singles, Greenfield-Central’s Brianna McConnell defeated Mt. Vernon’s Anna Hawks 6-4, 6-4. The two had met the day before in a match in Greenfield, with McConnell winning in three sets.
At No. 2 singles, New Palestine’s Olivia Hasenkamp won the title by defeating Eastern Hancock French foreign-exchange student Violette Sagalowicz in a three-set super tiebreaker, 6-4, 5-7, 10-5.
The Marauders won with a short-handed lineup.
They were playing without No. 2 singles player Carly Wilkerson, who left Thursday’s match at Greenfield by injury default. Also, Cecelia Bulmahn, an NCAA Division I volleyball recruit for Southern Illinois University, as well as part of the Marauders No. 1 doubles team, was out of town on a volleyball-related trip.
Both Meredith Johnson, who picked up a third-place finish at No. 2 singles and Lockwood, who joined Lugo, who normally plays No. 1 doubles with Bulmahn, were new to the lineup.
“We were down,” Muterspaugh said. “We were down our No. 2 singles and one-half of our No. 1 doubles team and we had girls come in there. What a way for us to step up. I couldn’t be more proud of our girls.”
With Johnson getting third-place points (two), the Marauders scored in all five divisions.
Players got three points for their team by winning in the first round, two points for a consolation round win and four for a championship match victory.
With Wilkerson and Bulmahn both absent, only Swingle was part of last year’s varsity lineup.
“Last year it was an expectation. We were going to win this. We had a lot of older girls and experience. It was expected,” Swingle said. “This year, we came into this with people missing. We didn’t know what to expect. We came into this knowing that every point matters.
“This one, being my second straight and being the 12th straight overall, it might have been one of the hardest to win with all the young girls.”
Greenfield-Central suffered a tough loss in their first round No. 2 singles match. Jaclyn Layton, with the score tied 6-6 in the first set against Hasenkamp, had to retire due to injury.
Going on simultaneously with the varsity tournament, Mt. Vernon won the junior varsity county title with 24 points, edging New Palestine, which totaled 23. Greenfield-Central scored eight and Eastern Hancock finished with five.
2022 Hancock County Girls Tennis Championship results
Team scores: Mt. Vernon 26, New Palestine 14, Greenfield-Central 11, Eastern Hancock 9
Championship round
Singles
No. 1, Kylie Brandes (MV) def. Bianca DiVittorio (EH) 6-4, 3-6, 10-7
No. 2, Olivia Hasenkamp (NP) def. Violette Sagalowicz (EH) 6-4, 5-7, 10-5
No. 3, Brianna McConnell (GC) def. Anna Hawks (MV) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1, Maddie Swingle/Shay Shipley (MV) def. Savanah Hardin/Lexi Swauger (EH) 6-3, 6-4
No. 2, Liv Lugo/Addy Lockwood (MV) def. Lily Haeberle/Bethany Blachly (NP) 6-2, 6-4
