By FRED KRONER
It was a little more than a year ago that a group of teen-aged girls at St. Joseph-Ogden decided to make something out of nothing.
The COVID-19-ravaged fall of 2020 was a time for many sports throughout the state to be shifted to another part of the school year, with no guarantee that they would take place. (They did.)
The options for those wanting to be athletically active last fall were limited. Cross-country. Golf. Tennis.
Outdoor sports were given a green light.
A fall sport such as volleyball, which Sophia Martlage and Emily Fisher had played in high school, was shifted to the second semester.
For students at St. Joseph-Ogden, tennis had never been on the school’s play list.
Martlage’s feeling was that just because it had never been done didn’t mean it couldn’t be done.
“I liked keeping myself busy with sports and was searching to see what I could do,” said Martlage, now a freshman at Purdue. “Emily Fisher and I had realized that tennis was still happening in the fall.
“We took that and ran with it.”
They talked with the SJ-O athletic director, Justin Franzen. Then, momentum for their pursuit gained steam.
Administrators and the school board got involved.
Within about a two-week span, they signed off on the formation of a club team for girls’ tennis.
Getting the green light was the easy part. The next step was much more daunting.
“It was definitely nerve-racking to know that no one on the team had actually played tennis before,” current senior Hope Rajlich said. “We knew that we were going to go to matches and face people who had been playing the sport since they learned to walk, and so the fact that most of us had never even held a racket before definitely added to the nervousness of having to learn a completely new sport.”
And yet, in an odd way, that was a benefit to recruiting girls to join the team.
“The reason we had 10 girls go out is because no one knew how to play,” Rajlich said. “It wasn’t going to be embarrassing when we didn’t know how to do something or struggled to pick skills up because everyone else on the team was in that same position.
“To have everyone start out on the same playing field made our team a lot closer. It’s not like we had a JV side and a Varsity side. Everyone practiced together and improved together, which made it so much fun.”
The novice players were under the tutelage of a knowledgeable volunteer coach. Kevin Martlage – Sophia’s father – is a former high school player at Martinsville, Ind.
“The entire season was incredible as none of the girls had ever picked up a racquet or played tennis, but yet developed their skills throughout the season,” Kevin Martlage said. “While we did not win many matches, they improved significantly week after week, which was awesome to see.”
In 2020, SJ-O had six regular-season dual meets – each one ending with a loss – and a chance to enter the Class 1A sectional tournament.
The progress quickly became evident.
“We went from losing every game to having girls win rounds in sectionals,” Sophia Martlage said.
Two SJ-O rookie players won a match in the postseason, Rajlich in singles, and the doubles duo of Alison Kearney and Katie McDermott in doubles. All three were underclassmen last fall.
It helped, Rajlich said, that the pressure of expectation was non-existent as tennis made its debut at SJ-O.
“I think a lot of people were excited that SJ-O was establishing a new sport, because we’re a pretty big sports town, and athletics are something that a lot of people in this community care about,” Rajlich said. “The support from everyone made being a part of the team so much easier, because we didn’t feel like we were interfering with anything and knew there wasn’t a ton of pressure on us to do well.
“We could just go out there, have fun, and learn how to play tennis.”
Sophia Martlage said the tennis program included not only learning a new sport, but also making new friends.
“Last season was a big learning curve for everyone,” Sophia Martlage said. “We all came in with zero experience and that was intimidating at first.
“For me, it rewarded me with new friends and new experiences. It was awesome to see everyone encouraging each other. No one cared if someone on the team wasn’t as good as them because we knew we were all learning, and for some it takes longer.
“Our team bond had actually become stronger over the fact that none of us had ever played before and it was amazing to see all of our work and determination pay off in the end.”
Even with success in 2020, the question was whether the program would continue in 2021 when all traditional fall sports were returned to their normal time slot.
“We were aware that the tennis team might not be around for a second season,” Rajlich said. “We had no idea if girls would want to come out for the team in 2021 because of the fall sports that were scheduled to actually happen during the fall season.”
Those concerns proved not to be an issue. Twenty SJ-O girls are playing tennis this season, with 13 of them involved in the sport for the first time.
“Their commitment to learning a new sport and their dedication to each other has allowed them to pick up the fundamentals very quickly as they continue to challenge themselves to become better players,” Kevin Martlage said.
The amount of growth on the roster meant looking for a new practice site.
“With the increase in numbers, we made the move from the single court at Kolb Park in St. Joe to The Atkins Center on the U of I Campus,” Kevin Martlage said.
One of the tennis newcomers this season is senior Kelsey Martlage, Sophia’s sister.
“I think having a few people who are returning players is nice because they made good leaders and they helped us learn the scoring and everything for meets,” Kelsey Martlage said. “It also is kind of nice having 13 new players because no one feels pressure to be so amazing.
“It helps out with our team chemistry because we are always cheering everyone on and it’s fun to watch people go from barely being able to serve it in the square, to winning games and full meets as a team.”
The Spartans have played in seven dual meets thus far and have a winning record as a team. SJ-O has been victorious in four of the seven meets.
Another first-time player for the Spartans is senior Jacey Lewis.
“I will admit I was hesitant to join tennis at first,” Lewis said. “What inspired me to go out my senior year was the girls and the coach. I have never fallen in love with a sport so fast. I have been a part of many different sports teams in my life, but this team definitely stands out.”
Lewis is a former volleyball player.
“I had been playing volleyball most of my life, but once I saw most of my friends were going out (for tennis), I knew I just had to do it,” she said. “My friends and I had never played tennis before so this was a learning curve for all of us. The second-year tennis girls were super excited to see so many new players. Our coach Kevin Martlage is all about new girls joining.
“Since Day 1, he has said he just wants us to have fun and go out and try our best.”
Rajlich was a cross-country letter winner before opting to focus on tennis.
“I spent six years of my life running cross-country and I was pretty good at it, but it was something that I was really starting to not enjoy,” Rajlich said. “That’s not because of coaches or teammates or anything like that, I just didn’t really like the running part anymore.
“If you’re a runner, it’s really important that you like running or else you’re going to be miserable, and I was starting to become the latter. So, when I heard there was going to be a tennis team, I told my mom it was something that I thought I would try.”
Before joining the Spartans’ tennis team, Rajlich had a brief introduction to the sport years ago, but wasn’t immediately impressed.
“One time at my grandma’s house, she gave me and my sister rackets and asked if we wanted to go play tennis on the courts in her neighborhood, so we did,” Rajlich said. “We were there for maybe 10 minutes because neither of us even knew how to get the ball on the other side of the court.”
The Spartans haven’t fielded a set lineup this season as coach Kevin Martlage tries to get experience for as many players as possible.
Thirteen different girls have played at least one varsity match in singles. In doubles, SJ-O has used 11 different combinations.
For all doubles matches contested thus far, SJ-O’s players have a 12-9 cumulative record.
In singles, the Spartans overall are 18-24. Nine different players have captured wins in singles.
“I did not think that all of us new people, or even the returning people, would be this good,” Kelsey Martlage said. “We have had teams tell us players how if we didn’t tell them this was our first year, they would have never known.
“Obviously since it is a new sport for all of us, the key to where we are is to just keep on practicing and listening to what Coach has to say about tips and tricks.”
The sport has been well-received within the school district.
“I know for sure this year the community and our students are excited to see such a great turnout for tennis,” Lewis said. “Everyone is so interested in how our season has been going, and happy to see how many of us went out.
“I know personally there have been many adults who tell me they are so happy to see SJ-O finally formed a girls’ tennis team.”
Tennis at SJ-O doesn’t yet have all of the perks of other athletic endeavors. Since it is still considered a club sport, it’s not possible for the athletes to earn varsity letters.
Parents help with the funding, though the district provides transportation to the matches.
Those in the program have not been complaining.
“No one really cared that we weren’t getting varsity letters, everyone was just out there having fun and enjoying this new experience together,” Sophia Martlage said. “We never wanted the season to end.”
She hopes the status can eventually be changed.
“It is super encouraging to see the team growing and winning matches this year,” Sophia Martlage said. “I hope that in the future, we are able to make it a true varsity sport and give girls the opportunity to letter in the sport.
“I am excited to see where this goes in the coming years, and I definitely see it sticking around for a while.”
Like any sport, the key to developing skills in tennis is practice and repetition.
“I know for me, I worked so much over the summer on my tennis game and I think that’s really helped me on the court,” Rajlich said. “Becoming more confident in your abilities is half the battle in tennis, so for me to do that has been a pretty big factor.
“A huge factor of team success is the newcomers this year. They have worked so hard and have become so good. And, we have so many girls that every match we can make a strategic and really strong lineup.
“It’s so exciting to see the improvement in just a year that our program has made, but we aren’t anywhere close to done. Hopefully, we can make a little noise in mid-October (during the postseason).”
Even though the Spartans have been competitive throughout the 2021 portion of their season, squad members understand there is still no guarantee about whether tennis will continue at SJ-O.
“The future of the program is still up in the air,” Rajlich said. “There are 12 seniors on the team this year, so if there is little to no interest from the classes below us, then there is a possibility that there will not be a team next year.
“I really hope, even though I’m gone next year, that girls will continue to go out for tennis. The team is really important to me and I hope it can eventually become a permanent sport at SJ-O.”
Whatever the future of the sport is at SJ-O High School, those who have been involved with tennis plan to continue with the activity.
“If I asked my fifth-grade self what sports I think I would be doing in the future, I can promise I never would have thought of tennis,” Kelsey Martlage said. “If it wasn’t for my sister and dad starting the team, I don’t think I ever would have played tennis in my life.
“It is definitely something I enjoy because even though it started in high school, it is something I can now continue playing for the rest of my life. It wasn’t terribly hard to pick up how to play and it’s super fun to just hang out at the courts with your friends.”
Rajlich said not having a background in the sport hasn’t diminished her enthusiasm for it.
“I don’t think there’s any way I would’ve gotten involved in tennis down the road if I hadn’t played in high school,” Rajlich said. “I had never intended to play and it was never something I even imagined doing until the team was created, so I definitely think if it weren’t for the pandemic, tennis would have never been a part of my life.
“The thing I enjoy most about the sport is that it’s just fun to play. I know a lot of athletes who are like, ‘Oh, I really don’t want to go to practice today’ or ‘Man, I really wish we didn’t have a game tonight,’ and I’ve never really had those thoughts with tennis.
“I love practice and meets and going to hit with friends during the weekend. It’s not something that feels like ‘just another thing I have to do today.’”
This year’s seniors include Ella Armstrong, Abby Behrens, Ella Besson, Angie Chahine, Hailey Gaines, Claire Huffman, Alison Kearney, Ashyn Lannert, Jacey Lewis, Kelsey Martlage, Grace Schmitz and Hope Rajlich.
