Crawfordsville boys tennis once again had a season to remember. Another county title and while they fell just short of a second straight Sagamore Conference title vs Lebanon, CHS got the Tigers back where it counted the most with a thrilling 3-2 win to capture the their second straight sectional title. The Athenians all season battled adversity. Cville was without its No. 1 singles player in James Murphy for most of the season as he battled plantar fasciitis. Then in the section when they got Murphy back, Wyatt Motz went down with a hand injury.
Still through all of it the Athenians emerged on top. Murphy as soon as Motz went down knew he’d be relied upon even more to help bring another sectional title home for CHS. Once he got back out on the court after his injury, it felt as if he had never left. His play on the court and leadership, even when he wasn’t playing, was shown plenty this season. Murphy detailed the injury and talked about what it took to come back.
“The injury happened against Parke Heritage (Aug. 22) and it was a very competitive match and the stakes were high for me,” Murphy said. “My foot began to really hurt and I could barely put any pressure on it. I ended up having to call the match. We ended up finding out it was plantar fasciitis which is a lingering injury and not much you can really do, Going through it was rough. When I came back I knew that I didn’t want to lose again so that’s where my mindset was throughout the whole thing.”
Murphy did save his best tennis for when it mattered most when he returned late in the season. The senior helped lead the Athenians to a sectional title and capped his career off on a high note. Murphy is the 2023 Journal Review Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
Crawfordsville coach Craig Brainard saw first hand what Murphy went through this season and despite not being able to be out on the court with his teammates, Brainard notes how Murphy still found ways to impact the team with his leadership.
“He was an awesome leader and created a great culture for the team,” Brainard said. “He brought the best out of everyone else and I’m real thankful to be able to have coached a player like him. Perseverance is the perfect word to describe him. He was able to compete at a very high level when he came back. One of the biggest jumps I’ve seen from him is his mental game has taken a giant step forward. He showed a lot of mental toughness when he came back. It was like he was an even better player afterwards.”
Murphy wasn’t about to leave his teammates out of the picture. The Athenians brought every single player back from last years team and had a few first year players in the mix like Henry Bannon who made his way onto two doubles. Murphy said how the entire team kept each other competing while maintaining a fun and positive attitude.
“As a whole this team was so much fun,” Murphy said. “We were always competing against each other in practice to make each other better. We as a team faced so much adversity this season with my injury than having Wyatt go down at the end. We knew that we would all have to work together to accomplish the goals we had.”
Murphy has manned the No. 1 singles spot for CHS ever since his sophomore season. Craig, who’s first season was Murphy’s freshman year back in 2019 has seen him grow over the years. Murphy has played a very large role in Cville’s success the last two seasons in which they’ve captured a SAC title, multiple county championships and of course two straight sectional titles.
“Having him these last four years has allowed our team to have that foundation that we can build on,” Brainard said. “James has always been a talented tennis player but really these last two years he’s elevated us to new heights. Crawfordsville tennis has had a great history of success and this run these last few years has allowed us to start another run for great success.”
Also here recently Murphy made it official that he will be continuing his tennis career at Concordia University of Wisconsin which is a DIII school part of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). For Murphy the decision to play at the next level was a fairly easy one as tennis has been part of his life for as long as he can remember.
“Tennis has always been my way out,” Murphy said. “With whatever I’m dealing with, I could just go out on the courts and hit. It’s helped me mentally just relax and I’ve played for so long so it’s something that I didn’t want to give up after high school. I enjoy this sport so much and want to keep striving for more goals.”
The Athenians will miss Murphy next season but know he’s onto bigger and better things. As Craig said, he’s helped build the foundation for the next wave of success with Crawfordsville tennis. The Athenians will look to continue that wave next fall.
