The much-needed HSE tennis court renovations began in early June and are just now wrapping up. The most valuable upgrade would be the addition of lights, which allows teams to practice later in the evening. They also added new a court surface, fencing, windscreens, nets, made it ADA accessible, and lots more.

“When matches run later in the evening, they can now be completed without the need to return on a separate day,” said coach of the Girls Tennis Team at HSE Georgia Schwoeppe. “Also, practices or matches can be held at a later time on days when we are limited or canceled because of the heat.”

“It’s just super exciting,” said Jim Self, who is one of the athletic directors at HSE. “It’s a new design for us called post-tension concrete.”

Post-tension concrete is a type of concrete reinforced with steel cables that are tightened after the slab hardens, making the surface stronger and less likely to crack.

However, with all this construction going on, the Boys Tennis Team entered their season with no home court.

“Being ‘Road Warriors’ was a challenge, but [it] allowed for strong team bonding and camaraderie,” said Schwoeppe.

Throughout the season, Fishers High School and Fall Creek Junior High lended the team court space.

“We would practice after they finished practice. And then if we had a home match scheduled… we moved our match over to Fishers,” said Self.

While the Boys Tennis Team faced many challenges over the course of the year, they made it to the state finals which is the farthest they’ve ever got.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our tennis team,” said Self. “They were ‘road warriors’ and didn’t use not having a home court as an excuse. They almost used it as a badge of courage.”

Even though they didn’t practice or play one match at home, they took the challenges and used it as a ‘badge of courage’