It was another banner year for the Greenville girls tennis program.
The Lady Wave split the Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division title with Vandalia Butler and Tippecanoe with identical 9-1 league records and for the first time ever, Greenville had four players advance to the Division I district tournament.
That group was led by junior first singles player Natalie Milligan, who has been chosen as the 2018 Darke County Girls Tennis Player of the Year, by The Daily Advocate.
Also, The Daily Advocate has named the 2018 Darke County Boys and Girls Soccer Players of the Year as Greenville sophomore Jacob Maher and Franklin-Monroe junior Chloe Brumbaugh.
For Milligan, she marked a 21-6 record this season en route to a second straight trip to the district tournament. Her postseason accolades include being first team All-GWOC for the second year in a row and second team All-Dayton Area for the second year in a row. In addition to qualifying for the district tournament, Milligan finished as runner-up in the sectional tournament.
“Natalie is a special player,” GHS girls tennis coach Jim Koontz said. “She has been our No. 1 singles player since her freshman season so this was her third year and we are really looking forward to her having a big senior season next year.
“She is very consistent and always works hard,” he continued. “She is just a joy to coach – all of them are a joy to coach. It is really a fun group of girls.”
The other three district qualifiers for Greenville were sophomore Emily Marchal as a singles player, and the doubles team of Anna Manges and Marabelle Lance. Marchal this season had a 20-5 record and was named to the GWOC second team, the Dayton Area second team and she finished third in the sectional tournament to qualify for the district. Manges and Lance were 21-5 this season. The duo finished as runners-up in the sectional to qualify for districts. Both were also named first team in the GWOC and second team in the Dayton Area.
Koontz also said that all 15 of the girls in the tennis program this year had a 3.5 GPA or above which made them all Greenville High School Scholar Athletes.
Even the Greenville players that did not advance in the tournament had fine seasons. Abby Swensen was 17-1 overall and was named honorable mention in the GWOC and special mention in the Dayton Area. A mixture of players played at second doubles for Greenville and posted records as follows during the season: Faith Mansfield 6-3, Felicity Lance 9-3, Katie Baughman 4-1 and Amada Chui 7-0.
On the pitch, the soccer season as a whole was not the best for either Greenville or Franklin-Monroe teams in terms of wins and losses, but that does not mean there weren’t outstanding individuals on any of the squads. As mentioned above, Greenville sophomore Jacob Maher has been named the 2018 Darke County Boys Soccer Player of the Year and Franklin-Monroe junior Chloe Brumbaugh has been selected as the 2018 Darke County Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
The Greenville boys went 2-13-2 overall and 2-7-1 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division, but Maher had several outstanding performances in goal for the Green Wave including in a game against Vandalia Butler where he recorded 24 saves. He also had back-to-back games against Wapakoneta and Tippecanoe where he recorded 17 saves apiece. All totaled, Maher recorded 128 saves with one shutout in goal while allowing 45 goals in 17 games.
For his outstanding performances, Maher was named to the GWOC All-Conference team and also to the GWOC North first team.
“Jacob was a leader on the field, very vocal, supportive and positive no matter how the game is going,” Greenville boys soccer coach Mark Coppess said. “His ability to read the game and react saved us many times. He will put everything into what he is doing no matter where I ask him to play, the team come first to him.”
Several of Maher’s teammates also received some postseason recognition. Dylan Snyder was named to the GWOC North second team and Alex Hutt received GWOC North special mention.
Franklin-Monroe girls soccer coach Danny Diceanu called Brumbaugh a “passionate competitor” who is “driven and plays with a lot of heart and a love for the game.”
Brumbaugh led her team with 16 goals this season, nearly doubling the 9 goals she had her sophomore year. She also had 5 assists for the Lady Jets (3-14 this season) totaling 37 points in 17 games.
“Chloe is athletic and energetic and she comes to compete everyday,” Diceanu said. “She is a versatile player who can play where ever needed. She is a very capable defender that can almost single handedly keep you in a game. Also, she can be a scoring threat if she plays up front. She scored 16 goals this season with 5 assists while playing many of our matches at outside midfield or defense.
“She is a coachable player that loves to work and makes players around her better,” he continued. “She is loved by teammates, disliked by opponents and respected by all on the soccer pitch for her ability and competitive nature.”
Brumbaugh received several postseason awards including being named her teams Most Valuable Player, Cross County Conference first team and All-Miami Valley second team.
