By RYAN WALKER
The Norwell boys tennis team defeated Fort Wayne South Side in a clean 5-0 sweep, remaining unbeaten to start the season.
There were two 6-0, 6-0 sweeps from junior Bodie Zimmer at No. 3 singles and the No. 1 doubles team led by seniors Winston Frauhiger and Owen Cupp. To wrap up the match, No. 1 singles standout Ethan Ottinger won in two sets, 6-3, 6-3, while No. 2 singles Grant Mishler won 6-0, 6-4. The final match was a forfeit for South Side due to not having enough players.
The Knights finished with a strong 14-10 record under Noah Tobias, now entering his third season as head coach. His team lost in the sectional title game 3-2 to Huntington North, but Tobias has a good feeling about his team this year behind a hard-working group of players that enjoy being together.
“Honestly, it’s what makes every Norwell team special every year,” Tobias said, who played tennis at Norwell for four years. “And it’s the reason why I continue to come back. It’s just the constant longing to get better but also the comradery of the team. There’s a reason why I was a player, and now I’m a coach for this team. Everyone gets along with each other, we’ve always had a great time, and we still push each other at the same time.”
The team brought back nearly everyone from the lineup from a year ago, which has given them a boost to begin the year 3-0.
The Knights are looking to lean on two returners from last season for a post-season push: senior Ethan Ottinger and junior Grant Mishler. Like the team, they’ve both started at a 3-0 record and bring a one-two punch at the front-end of the lineup.
Ottinger can perform on the court, but his value to the team goes beyond playing abilities.
“He’s a great senior,” Tobias said. “He works his butt off every practice, every match, but he makes everybody laugh. We need that sometimes. They’re high schoolers, and they like to have fun, and I like to have fun with them.”
Grant Mishler is the No. 2 singles player, but has the ability to be the top guy on the team if it wasn’t for his counterpart Ottinger. Regardless, Tobias has watched him grow over the last few years and believes he is one of the best number two guys in the area.
“He has gotten so much better every single year,” he said. “He constantly works outside of the season, and it shows. I mean, to think of when he was a freshman to now, he’s always had really great talent, but he just puts something together more and more every year and grows as a player, and I think he’s one of the best No 2’s in the area, and I have no problem fighting for him.”
This might be the best of the bunch in the three years under Tobias. They work well together, work hard, and are hungry to improve on their season last year after the sectional loss. Norwell will be a team to be on the lookout for as the next few months go by.
“This team talent-wise is a very strong team, and we’ve just consistently gotten better all three years I’ve been coach. They do it themselves,” Tobias said.
