Heading into this tennis season, Crawfordsville’s boys team knew there was going to be an intense competition for the #1 spot.
Rowan Gambrel not only got that spot, but helped lead his Athenians team to a conference and sectional championship. In getting that done, he has been named the Journal Review Boys Tennis Player of the Year.
“Rowan made a big jump coming into the 2024 season,” C’ville coach Craig Brainard said of the junior. “I think his improvement is a testament to his hard work and dedication in the offseason, namely taking lessons at Wabash, playing in tournaments, and jumping at every other opportunity he could to play. He got in a lot of reps, including reps in some competitive situations that not a lot of other guys take advantage of in our area.”
With the graduation of James Murphy, the top spot was wide open on a team that has known success recently and was expecting more.
“This year was so special because I finally got to the spot I have always wanted to be at,” Gambrel said, “and it sure wasn’t easy because I had Wyatt Motz who since middle school has been the biggest competitor with me and hardest match I ever had to play. We also as a team were able to push each other to new heights every practice and make each other better on both the varsity and jv teams.”
The battle for the #1 spot lasted into the season.
“Once practices started,” Brainard said, “it was obvious that Rowan had a new found confidence in his game going for bigger shots, moving the ball around more, and approaching the net more often. He was a force in practice matches and showed that he could play at the #1 level. The biggest challenge at the beginning of the season for Rowan was sustaining his level of play throughout an entire match. This is nothing new for any athlete and experience helps. After our fourth match I decided to move Rowan up to #1 singles to get him the experience that would help him down the road.”
That move helped get the Athenians over the top, as they won the last Sagamore Conference championship and the sectional.
“As a coach, having a lot of depth on our team, it’s easy to worry that putting a less experienced, though highly skilled player at #1 singles may discourage them and hurt their development but this was not the case for Rowan,” Brainard continued. “He and I had some good conversations and ultimately Rowan continued to improve and sustain his level of play through matches as the season progressed. Despite going 6-5 at 1 singles, Rowan was pretty dominant against area opponents, dropping only 7 total games against North, South, and FC, defeating each in straight sets.”
“One of the biggest moments of the season for Rowan came against Lebanon,” the coach added. “He defeated Owen Bigler (6-1, 6-4), all but sealing the conference title which was pretty special considering it was the last SAC title. What really made this win stand out is that Rowan lost a 3-set match against Owen in 2023 that would decide the conference championship. Rowan was close in 2023 but his convincing win against the same opponent in 2024 shows just how much he improved.”
The wins came with the hard work.
“All of the hours that I put in were always with a purpose,” Gambrel noted. “If there was something I knew I needed to work on I would spend as much time as possible on that thing. I haven’t really done much club tennis, the only tennis I’ve done outside of season and practice was hitting with friends and lessons, and I have played in the Strawberry Festival Tournament, the McTagertt tournament, and I plan on playing USTA tournaments in the next offseason. The thing that motivated me the most to put in all of the hours was all of the other players that I know will also be working their hardest and trying to get better and I want to be the hardest worker of them all.”
Gambrel was the #1 player, but he was quick to note that the championships were won by the team.
“This past season was one of the best I’ve been a part of so far, the tennis man said. “Every single person on our team this year were like brothers to me and without them I could never be where I am now. I will always remember my match against Park Heritage because it was a super close one and even though I lost, my team was standing on the fence supporting me and helping me the whole way, and even after I lost they were still proud of me and they truly cared.”
“Sadly, this season had to end for the seniors — Jude Coursey, Jude Hutchison, Wyatt Motz, along with Reagan Cox who was our manager. They were all such important people in my life of tennis and playing with them for three seasons was incredible and I am so thankful for all of them.”
Gambrel also noted coaches and family.
“Without any of the coaches that have taught me so much and spent so much of their own time making me and my teammates the best players we can be, we could never have been the team we are now,” he said. “All of the coaches I have had throughout my whole life are so incredibly important to me and I am so grateful to have such good people in my life guiding me to be the best player I can be.”
“I can confidently say that other than wanting to be the hardest worker, my family, my friends, and my girlfriend are the biggest motivators to me because they’re the reason I want to be better and better every day,” he continued. “I thank them so much and I will always strive to make them all proud of the player I am because they have given me so much love and support and I am beyond grateful and love every single one of them.”
With a year left in his high school career, the Player of the Year doesn’t plan to sit on his laurels.
“My high school career is something that I am already so thankful for and I feel blessed to be a part of this team,” Gambrel said. “Being able to win sectionals three years in a row and winning conference two years are accomplishments that I am so proud of our team for achieving. The teammate who helped me the most and guided me the most without a doubt is James Murphy. He showed me how to be better every day and pushed me to be the best version of myself. He and Thomas Bowling were amazing people and teammates and they were two of the biggest influences of my whole career. I love this sport so much and I do have a goal to play in college and take all of my skills and talents that I have been taught from all of these amazing people in my life and show that whichever coach would like to have me that they made the right choice in asking me to play for them.”
It’s a fair guess that there may be more than a few college coaches asking.
