KYLE SMEDLEY
FOR THE HERALD BULLETIN
ALEXANDRIA – It was early in the first set of a Central Indiana Conference No. 1 singles match between Alexandria junior Owen May and Madison-Grant senior Luke Gilman when a tennis racket went flying. Not out of anger or frustration, it just slipped from Gilman’s hand as he tried to secure a point with a dominating kill toward the front of the net.
Gilman’s attempted kill hit his side of the net, granting May a point. What’s worse, Gilman’s racket broke and he had to quickly switch to an extra one he had in his courtside bag.
The Argyll said it took him a few games against May to truly get used to his new racket, comparing
the comfortability he had with his broken racket to the bond a baseball player may have with his bat. Gilman eventually won the first set 6-2, but May didn’t make it easy for his undefeated opponent, consistently responding to Gilman’s constant offense with just as consistent defense.
“There were some shots I hit where I was like, ‘That’s a great shot,’ and then he would hit it back, and I’m like, ‘How did you hit that back?’” Gilman said. “He got to everything. He hustled after everything, and he made sure every point was as close as it could be.”
Gilman won the first five games of the second set as he closed in on yet another sweep at No. 1 singles for Madison-Grant. However, May fought back to make the final score a respectable 6-3.
Gilman was visibly frustrated at times during the second set, but coach Tony Pitt said he never worries about his star player’s ability to move on from his past mistakes.
“He’s really good at getting the ball back,” May said. “You will move him from side to side, and he’ll get to the ball. Then at that point, you don’t know what to do.”
Gilman’s 2-0 win against May clinched Madison-Grant’s 3-2 team win against its CIC foe, extending the Argylls’ conference record to 5-0. M-G is the two-time defending conference champion and hasn’t lost a CIC match since 2021.
Wednesday evening’s win clinched the Argylls at least a share of the conference crown again.
“We’re here to win, and we’re here to do something great because we know we’re great,” Gilman said.
Even though Madison-Grant has been dominant for three seasons in a row now, it hasn’t always been this way. Prior to the 2022 season, the Argylls had never won a conference title.
But winning is all Gilman knows. Aside from his freshman season in 2021, he has led Madison-Grant to the promised land time and time again.
“It’s just normal at this point,” Gilman said.
“That just makes me play better, knowing I got the target. Come beat me.”
May tried. Despite only winning a combined five games compared to Gilman’s 12 in their head-to-head match, Tigers coach Matt DeVault felt May’s effort was one of this season’s best.
“We’ve always been right behind those guys,” DeVault said. “Today, it just shows we’re not far away.”
He felt the same of May’s six varsity teammates, three of whom picked up wins in their individual matches against the Argylls. Junior Brody Sullivan and freshman Cale Johns were dominant in No. 1 doubles action, defeating Madison-Grant’s duo 6-2, 6-1.
Before that, freshman Blake Jones won his No. 3 singles match in a sweep (6-1, 6-2). Pitt was impressed with the passion the Tigers showed despite their youth and disappointing 4-10 record.
“If you didn’t know which team was which, you would think Alexandria was the team that was 4-0 in conference play and going for a conference title,” Pitt said.
DeVault knew the 2024 season would be one full of ups and downs with the youth on display at the varsity level. Alexandria has no seniors on its roster, and three of its seven varsity starters are freshman.
Although the Tigers lack experience, they don’t lack motivation, especially when competing against Madison-Grant.
“We just got told that they have the traveling trophy, so it might have lit a fire under our butts a little bit more,” May said.
The traveling trophy May referred to belongs to the CIC champion. Alexandria has possession of the girls tennis trophy, but the boys’ trophy has been in the Argylls’ clutches for more than two years. By the looks of things, that’s unlikely to change by the end of the season.
“I don’t need to pump them up,” Pitt said. “Once we get on the bus and I bring that traveling trophy (with us), they know what’s at stake.”