Page 16 - 2016-17 Girls Tennis State Finals Program

2016 Tournament in Review

Cathedral tops St. Joseph for first
Girls Tennis Crown in 30 Years
Strong singles play carried Indianapolis Cathedral all the way through the season and ended up being the winning recipe
again as the Irish carried home their first big trophy in 30 years.

After the third-ranked Irish (21-1) toppled No. 2 and three-time defending champion Carmel, 3-2, in the state quarterfinal
round (their second win of the season over the Greyhounds), Cathedral edged No. 8 Terre Haute South in the semis and
No. 4 South Bend St. Joseph in the championship by the same 3-2 score. It was the first state championship for Cathedral
coach Mark Noe, who had also guided the Irish to the 2012 title match.

Matches for the state finals had to be moved indoors to Indianapolis Racquet Club - Dean, thanks to a storm system that
slowly moved its way through the area.
The sister act of sophomore Maeve Koscielski (28-0) at No. 1 singles, senior Grace Koscielski (27-0) at No. 2 singles,
and freshman Claire Koscielski (28-0) at No. 3 singles, each remained undefeated on the season. Maeve, who went on to
compete in the state singles tournament, defeated St. Joe’s Maddie Yergler, 6-0, 6-0. Grace turned away Mary Mullaney,
6-3, 6-0, and Claire beat Maria Anthony, 6-2, 6-2.
The sisters come from good tennis stock as father Paul Koscielski was a three-time singles state champion from South
Bend Adams in 1982, 1983, and 1984, while mother Amy (Boyle), was a member of Cathedral’s last girls state champion-
ship team in 1986.
St. Joseph’s (19-3) took both doubles matches in the championship with Talle Corrigan and Ceci Pekarek taking out
Meghan Farrell and Rachel Long at No. 1, 6-2, 6-4. Corrigan and Pekarek stayed unbeaten in the post-season. In the No. 2
match, Mary Lyon and Nicole Pascual teamed to down Kristin Caldwell and KK Combs, 6-0, 6-4. The Indians were coached
by Bill Mountford, who previously had led St. Joe to the 2010 state championship.

16 IHSAA - Pure Spirit. Pure Sport!