This is part of a series of team previews for the fall season. Here’s the complete list.
Cross Country | Football | Golf | Soccer | Softball | Swimming | Tennis | Volleyball
The Lady Tigers tennis team will lean on a dedicated senior class during the 2023 season. As a group, coach David Smashey said they have exhibited dedication to the sport since first walking onto the courts as freshmen.
“They were the first class after we lost the COVID year, and they were just here every day from the beginning. They would show up every time we had a tournament, every time we had open courts,” he said. “Grace Replogle, Monica Henry, Lilly Carlo, Ellie Woodward, and others — but especially them, just every single day, and it’s been that way for four years.”
Though they were relative newcomers to the sport, their willingness to show up has resulted in steady improvement, Smashey noted.
“They’ve become really solid tennis players from having never played before. And just year-by-year, you see them figure things out. They’re hard workers and they’re smart kids, and they’re willing to listen. They’ve been really fun to watch get better every year.”
Because last year’s seniors had been varsity mainstays, the opportunities for varsity experience was limited in past years. That will have to change this season, as many of the Lady Tigers will be playing higher in the lineup and facing more difficult competition.
“Their challenge could be substantial,” Smashey said. “I think we’re going to be okay. But certainly there’s going to be moments where it would’ve been nice to have had more experience.”
Rather than flashy shot-making, Smashey expects his team’s strengths to be intelligence, athleticism and relentlessness. Maintaining a team-first mentality will be paramount.
“This is a team that doesn’t have a lot of big, aggressive, brilliant shot makers,” Smashey said. “This is a team of kids who are smart and athletic and willing to work, and that’s how we’re going to have to win points and matches.”
Lilly Carlo returns to the varsity squad, bringing speed and athleticism. She’ll be playing more skilled opponents, “so the challenge will be to translate that athleticism to tennis wins.”
Carlo said she is looking for a memorable senior-season match she can always look back on. Her personal goal is to play in the number-one singles spot after setting that goal years ago, and her team goal is to send more qualifiers past the district level this year.
Smashey credits Mari Davidson with 100 percent effort. “No one ever doubts Mari’s effort. The challenge for Mari is to keep the ball in play, and especially playing potentially pretty good players every day. She’s up to that challenge, but that will be something she’s going to have to focus on.”
Davidson said she takes her role as a senior leader seriously. “I just love being kind to everybody and having a team. It’s an individual sport, but I love including everybody in all we do.”
Mati Carpenter played every match last year as a freshman. “She’s really smart, really coachable, and a good teammate,” Smashey said. “She’s very consistent and she’s had to let herself play to her full potential and not let the stress of the situation worry her.”
Monica Henry is “a player who’s made great strides each and every year. She was probably (ranked) in the upper 20s as a freshman, and she’s just learned to play. She serves the ball really well.”
Grace Replogle may have spent more time on the Republic High School tennis courts than anyone else ever, Smashey said. “She’s just been a gym rat and loves to play. She comes to everything in the summer, and comes to all the tournaments, and comes to practice early and stays late. She’s a good ball striker and is surprisingly aggressive off both forehand and backhand, and she can really make shots.”
Smashey said Ellie Woodward will be fun to watch this season. “She’s very relaxed, and it doesn’t really look like she’s going to be hitting the ball hard, but she has great hand-eye coordination and she has the ability hit the ball where she aims it — which sounds simple, but not very many of us can do it,” Smashey said.
Katie Teeter, another senior, may be the best athlete on the team, according to Smashey. “She’s just a really gifted athlete, and her tennis is finally starting to catch up with just how good of an athlete she is,” he said. “Her tennis has gotten better every year, and she’s really going to be a factor for us this year in singles or doubles or both.
In addition, Smashey said a large group of talented freshmen includes players that may push their way into the varsity lineup before the year is through. “As far as their talent and their approach and their competitiveness, it’s a really, really good group,” he said.
Because the Lady Tigers are a team that will have to grind out points, Smashey said he has stressed the importance of never giving up while the ball is in play. That attitude will make or break Republic’s success this season.
“It takes a real kind of team ethic. We don’t ever quit on a ball. We don’t quit on a point. We don’t quit on a match. We don’t quit on each other,” he said. “It really has to come from watching each other and playing for each other. You see that the girl next to you is just giving it everything, that makes you want to play the same way.”
