Being a part of state championships for three consecutive seasons, GPS’s Sarah Evans experienced a new feeling at the end of the 2009 tennis season: defeat.
As an eighth-grader, she played No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles, going a combined 3-0 as the Bruisers defeated Hutchison and Knoxville Webb for the team’s first state championship since 1998. She moved up to No. 2 singles the two following seasons as GPS made it three consecutive Division II-AA state titles.
Then came last year. The Bruisers advanced to the state tournament but lost 4-1 in the semifinals to eventual champion Hutchison. Individually, Evans fell in the final to Hutchison’s Hayly Humphreys by a 6-3, 6-3 score — coincidentally, the same score the GPS senior had won by in the team finals.
The losses have driven her, as well as the Bruisers as a whole, to work even harder.
“We knew that it would be a hard year last year,” said Evans, who has signed with NCAA Division I Wofford. “We did the best we could, but there were just some teams out there that were just as good. Since it’s my senior year, I want a championship and we’re working hard to get back there this year.”
Said GPS coach Sue Bartlett: “I just think that every year is different. Last year we had a great group of girls and they worked hard. All I can ask my girls is to be the best they can be, and I felt that they did that. This year we have a lot of younger girls coming in. We knew we would be strong. The newer players increase our depth, and depth is key in the state tournament.
“As far as being hungry? I love the girls and want to help them individually be as good as possible. If we win state, that’s great.”
The Bruisers return four players with starting experience from last year and boast a strong eight-player freshman class. An added bonus will be a rule change in Division II to an NCAA Division I rule. Should a team sweep the three doubles matches or win two out of three, that would count as only one point toward the team total.
The rule will especially pay off in the postseason, as now all six singles players can play in matches — as opposed to the top five singles and top two doubles tandems competing, which is still the format in the public school division.
“The biggest thing I like is that I personally hated having to tell my No. 6 singles player and No. 3 doubles team that they weren’t playing,” Bartlett said. “In looking at the big picture, we’re wanting to improve tennis and allow more people to play, so now we have all three doubles teams and six singles players getting to play.”
As far as the Bruisers’ expectations, Evans knows it will be a tough road this season.
“We’re just going to fight in every single match,” she said. “We want to end up at state. It’s important to take things one match at a time now, but we hope to work our way there.”