GREENVILLE — Greenville’s varsity girls tennis team swept Sidney 5-0 on Senior Night at the Greenville National Bank Courts.
The Lady Wave honored five seniors before the Miami Valley League match: Riley Capasso, Sienna Gilman, Kirsten Horn, Meadow Murphy and Brittany Stevens. Greenville improved to 8-3 overall and 4-3 in league play.
Head coach Lori Keller said the seniors have taken responsibility for preparing the team.
“They have been amazing leaders in our program this year,” Keller said. “They set the tone for practice. They get everyone ready for the match before it begins. As coaches, we can sit back, and they take care of all the warm-up drills and the stretching. They are there leading them.”
Volunteer assistant coach Natalie Milligan said each senior has made a distinct contribution.
“I agree with Coach Keller. They have had a huge impact on the team,” Milligan said. “Riley Capasso was such a great leader. She’s quiet, but sets a great example for everything that the younger girls should strive to be. She’s always kind, and they know they can go to her for anything.”
Milligan praised Murphy’s work as a captain and her willingness to speak up for teammates.
“Meadow Murphy is an exceptional leader and handles all our difficult conversations,” Milligan said. “I’m so proud of her. She was a really great team captain, led a lot of those conversations well and stood up for everybody.”
“Brittany Stevens is incredibly kind,” Milligan added. “I think she befriended a lot of the younger girls and showed them what it’s like to be in high school and on a team. Kirsten Horn was so sweet and just a friend to everybody. Her positivity really made a huge impact on the team overall.
“Sienna Gilman always has beautiful form. That was the first thing I noticed about her. She is one of the sweetest, most nonjudgmental girls on the team, and she also was a great captain.”
Assistant coach Eileen Schulze has watched many of the seniors play since middle school.
“Being with most of these girls since middle school, just to watch them grow into the great athletes that they have become, and the tremendous bond these girls have — they’re not just players. They’re family, and it shows,” Schulze said.
Assistant coach Suzie Brown also coached four of the five seniors in middle school.
“It’s been so fun to see them grow up and turn into such amazing young women,” Brown said. “In middle school, the maturity level isn’t always there. With these girls, it’s like watching your own kid grow up.”
Brown said she expects their leadership to continue beyond tennis.
“I think they’ll all be great leaders in whatever they choose to do,” she said. “Like Lori said, we put that out there for them this year, and they rose to the occasion. I think they will all be leaders in whatever they do, and I think they’ll be good community members.”
First-year assistant coach Rachel Williams said the seniors welcomed her to the program.
“I don’t know the girls as well as everyone else, but I am impressed by their quiet confidence,” Williams said. “You can see a difference between a freshman and a senior. They are so kind, and they’re the sweetest group. They make me feel good about humanity’s future. These girls are such good human beings and great teammates.”
“They were so welcoming and warm and understanding when I couldn’t feed a ball very well at first,” Williams added. “Very, very kind. We are truly just like a family of girls supporting girls out here. We love it.”
Keller said a team camp at Chenoweth Trails helped establish that atmosphere.
“They were very coachable,” Keller said. “We spent some time during our camp at Chenoweth Trails at the beginning of the season focusing on our team culture and trying to build that. I think that set the tone for the entire season. The girls really embraced what we were trying to build here and were leaders in making sure that happened.”
Keller said she welcomes the support of the assistant coaches.
“I had a parent ask me why we have five coaches,” she said. “I said I will embrace anyone who wants to invest in the young people in our community. We have five women who are here for these young ladies.”
With sectionals approaching, Keller said Capasso is seeded second in singles, while Murphy and Callie Zwiesler are seeded fourth in doubles.
“We’ve had a great season. Right now we’re 8-3,” Keller said. “We missed a lot of our matches due to rain. We’re going into sectionals with Riley Capasso seeded second in our sectional, and Meadow Murphy and Callie Zwiesler are seeded fourth as a doubles team.”
Keller said a change allowing teams to enter three doubles teams and one singles player has strengthened the doubles field.
“A lot of teams are putting in their first and second singles as a strong doubles team,” she said. “We were thrilled that they were seeded fourth.”
The Lady Wave tennis team will be competing this Thursday in the MVL Tournament.
“We’re looking forward to that,” Coach Keller concluded.
(L-R) Kirsten Horn, Sienna Gilman, Brittany Stevens, Riley Capasso, and Meadow Murphy. (Gaylen Blosser photo)
From left to right, Rachel Williams, Susie Brown, Head Coach Lori Keller, Natalie Milligan, and Eileen Schulze. (Gaylen Blosser photo)
