By Cassandra Cross

Individually, Spartans Tennis sent two seniors to the state tournament. 

As a team, the Spartans fought through an up-and-down year.

Now, another memorable tennis season is in the books. 

The tennis team ended the year with a near .500 record on Oct. 23. It was a season that started back with practice under the summer July sun, welcoming newcomers to the team. 

The year started with a rocky beginning back in August. The team experienced early losses to Marian Central, Providence, and Carmel Catholic. Still, they picked up their rackets and smashed their way toward wins against St. Laurence, Oak Lawn, and Crete-Monee. They also competed in many tournaments including the Lincoln-Way West invite where they secured 8th place. Our junior varsity team also saw great success this season with an impressive win against Marist. Varsity finished the season with a 10-11 record. 

Seniors Abbey Yock and Sierra Schassburger wrapped up their final season with a trip to state. “Qualifying anybody to state is an accomplishment,” said varsity coach Scott Bodnar.  

Coach Bodnar also had kind words for the team despite their overall record.

“There’s nothing I would change,” Bodnar said. “We practiced every day and we didn’t give up on any matches. I’m proud of the girls because they moved around to different positions, they didn’t complain, and they were very committed to the team.” 

The doubles team of Yock and Schassburger played tennis all four years at Marian experience. Each had high words of praise for the program. 

Yock described her time playing tennis as, “Like building a family honestly. I know I can turn to any of these girls and even my coaches and they will have my back no matter what.” 

Yock also wanted to thank Mr. Becvar, Mr. Bodnar, and Sam Kirchner for their time and support. 

When asked what lesson she learned this season, Schassburger answered, “What happened last year doesn’t matter, what matters is what’s happening in the present.”