My View/Your View: Park Tudor Tennis Still the Team to Beat

At Park Tudor, the beat continues to go on with nearly every serve and volley.

The girls tennis team has already won four straight Indiana high school state tennis titles, and they show no signs of letting up.

“Our goal is to win five now,’’ Dave Heffern, the 14-year Park Tudor coach said, matter-of-factly.

Other than winning state and possibly another Marion County Tournament title, not much else seems to matter for the top-ranked Class 2A Panthers.

Not even unbeaten regular-season finishes or winning streaks . . . or . . . “I don’t know, we’ve won something like 50-plus matches,’’ said Heffern, who has won 11 state titles, six with the girls. “I’m not real sure, but then again that’s not what our mindset is all about.’’

Heffern said he’s not even sure what his overall coaching record is after so many years, though it stands to reason it must be pretty good. “I’m pretty sure that Brad (Lennon, the athletic director at Park Tudor) probably has that information somewhere in his office,’’ he said.

One thing we know for sure is that Heffern’s girls have won three straight Marion County Tournament championships, and they are favored to net another one, when the quest continues Tuesday. Play is scheduled daily through Friday’s final.

Much of Park Tudor’s success, including wins over No. 2 Munster, No. 4 Center Grove and No. 6 Cathedral came with freshman Chelsea Carter watching from the sidelines. Carter, who has played No. 1 singles at times this year, has a sprained ankle and has not played the past couple of weeks. She practiced some last week and is likely to play in the County, but not at No. 1. That honor will go to junior Lindsay Thygesen, the reigning Marion County singles champion.

Thygesen has played – and won – at No. 1 singles in victories over those ranked teams, and her win last Saturday was the difference in Park Tudor’s 3-2 decision over Brebeuf Jesuit.

“We’ve had some very good competition so far, and Lindsay has earned that No. 1 once again,’’ Heffern said.

Also a major point contributor is sophomore Maggie MacPhail, the sister of senior Sarah MacPhail, who teams with junior Caroline Emhardt, last year’s No. 2 singles player, to give Park Tudor a very formidable No. 1 doubles team.

“We’re good right now because we have four returning veterans from last year’s unbeaten team,’’ Heffern said.

Heffern said he really likes this team and thinks there’s a great deal of talent, not to mention ample potential in which to continue building on at state level.

The IHSAA team state finals are June 6, and the individual singles and doubles competition will be played on June 12 and 13.

So that’s the team’s mission, certainly a probable destination. Any individual honors would just be more hardware for the school’s growing tennis trophy case.

“We’re not as deep as we were in 2007 when no one came close to us,’’ Heffern said. “We need to get better at No. 2 doubles and our freshman needs to stay healthy, get better and play. So there’s still some work to do. When Chelesa is in the lineup, and healthy, we’re a much better team, of course."

Heffern reiterated that losing a match or two in the season means nothing. In 2005, Park Tudor lost to North Central in the County and went on to win the state team title.

“To be successful, you have to be able to move on and focus on what’s important,’’ he said. “We want to be playing at our best at the end when it counts.”

And will Park Tudor’s best be good enough again in 2009?

“Oh, I think the girls understand what must be done. We talk about winning five in a row . . . we talk about that a lot, in fact. When they don’t practice well, I’m also quick to remind them they can’t just show up,’’ he said with a chuckle.

Coming Friday: Dave Heffern talks about why he hopes tennis never becomes a multi-class sport, and why he thinks Park Tudor is becoming a destination for many girls tennis players.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.