GREENVILLE – Coach Lori Keller, GHS class of 1985 returns for her third stint at the helm of the Lady Wave tennis program with a goal of rebuilding the program.
Coach Keller coached the 1989 Lady Wave tennis team and had a three year run from 2006-2008 as well as a turn coaching the Green Wave boys junior high team.
“It’s been a while,” Keller noted. “I coached in 1989 when Vanis Brumbaugh quit for a year and then I had a baby and then she took it back because I was busy with that. I coached again when my daughter was in high school back in 2006, 07 and 08 and I also coached the boys junior high and my son was playing.”
Coach Keller was a cheerleader her freshman year at GHS, played tennis her sophomore season and was an exchange student in Costa Rica her junior year before returning her senior season to compete with the Lady Wave tennis program.
The 2023 Lady Wave tennis program numbers 14 members, up from five players from the 2022 season.
“We are definitely rebuilding,” Coach Keller said. “We are where we want to be for the group of girls we have right now. We have a long way to go but our focus is to bring tennis back to Greenville for girls. We would just like to see a lot of girls out here on the courts having fun.”
“For Susie Brown and me it is a lifelong sport and we would like to pass that on to the next generation,” she added. “We have beautiful courts out here and we just want to see it used.”
With a roster of 14 including six freshmen, the Lady Wave will field a complete varsity squad as well as a full JV team for the 2023 season.
“We are very excited about the number of freshmen,” said Keller. “We have seen a lot of improvement in some of our freshmen already, some of them that tried it out in the spring. Susie and I put on a tennis fun-day at the middle school this year. It was inside the gym and we had quite a few kids come out and out of those kids we picked up a few new freshmen. Then it was just word of mouth. They started inviting friends. That is what we are focused on right now – just making it fun for them so they want to keep playing and have fun with it.”
Greenville senior, Sadie Lance has been named Captain of the 2023 Lady Wave tennis team.
“We’re going to be challenged but its ok,” Keller concluded. “It’s a learning time for us.”
The Lady Wave opens season play on the road at Celina, Tuesday, August 8 th and have their home opener Thursday, August 10 when St. Mary’s comes to town.
2023 Lady Wave Tennis Roster:
Lilly Daigle | freshman
Riley Etchison | freshman
Sienna Gilman | freshman
Kirsten Horn | freshman
Meadow Murphy | freshman
Emma Worthen | freshman
Maddie Lance | sophomore
Trisha Wells | sophomore
Bre Landis | junior
Lizzy Lara-Machado | junior
Charlie Pope | junior
Haylee Shuttleworth | junior
Adele Strunks | junior
Sadie Lance | senior
