<p>Despite everything Ethan Gray accomplished on the tennis course last fall, it’s what he didn’t that gnawed at the Greenwood junior during the offseason.</p><p>As a sophomore, Gray posted a 12-6 record at No. 1 singles for the Woodmen boys, earning himself various postseason accolades. However, the last loss fueled his drive going into this season.</p><p>“I just felt like I had enough to go deeper into the state tournament and probably get to the state finals, which is what I hope to do this year,” Gray said. “I felt like I could have played better at sectional. I just didn’t play well that day.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“I don’t necessarily dwell over it, but I still use it as some type of motivation to stay focused when I’m training.”</p><p>Greenwood opens the 2019 season next Saturday morning with a match at Mooresville.</p><p>Gray, who played No. 2 singles as a ninth-grader behind his brother Jacob, occupies the top spot for the second straight year. He worked in the offseason to work on improving his serve and put more topspin on the ball on returns and during rallies.</p><p>Being a team’s No. 1 singles means always facing the opponent’s best player. In the Mid-State Conference alone, Gray stares across the net at the likes of Perry Meridian senior Sajin Smith and Whiteland junior Quinten Gillespie.</p><p>Woodmen coach Jeremy Runge thought Gray did a good job handling the pressure at a young age.</p><p>“I was really impressed with how Ethan played and how he battled last year. I was really proud of him,” Runge said. “About six matches into the season, his demeanor changed and he looked more comfortable.”</p><p>Greenwood returns the nucleus of a squad that lost to Center Grove in the sectional semifinal.</p><p>“We only lost one senior from last year, but it will be tough to fill that No. 2 singles spot. It’s probably going to be a similar to last season,” Gray said. “We have a lot of players who have just started playing tennis in the last year.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="Scouting Johnson County’s boys tennis teams" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Center Grove Trojans</strong></p><p>Coach: Ivan Smith</p><p>Last season: 20-5, won county, sectional, regional and semistate titles; lost to Floyd Central in state quarterfinal</p><p>Key returnees: Mason Runkle, senior; Dhrumil Patel, junior</p><p>Outlook: The Trojans graduated a good portion of their starting lineup, though Smith looks to bring up players from a junior varsity squad that suffered only one loss last season. The coach said preseason tryouts will determine who will take the other spots in the lineup. "It’s really up in the air. There are probably at least six of them," said Smith, whose roster features 13 juniors. "Some of them are better doubles players than singles players, and some are better singles players than doubles players. We’re definitely rebuilding."</p><p><strong>Edinburgh Lancers</strong></p><p>Coach: Pete Khensouri</p><p>Last season: 4-13; lost to Columbus North in sectional semifinal</p><p>Key returnees: Brayden McManaway and Kolton Reed, seniors; Parker Newman, junior; Travis Jones and Trevor Moon, sophomores</p><p>Key newcomers: Chase Littlejohn, junior; Max Blandford and Cash Cunningham, freshmen</p><p>Outlook: The Lancers look to exceed their win total of a year ago with McManaway, Reed and Jones the top prospects to hold down the three singles spots. Blandford is a promising freshman who could work his way into one of those positions. "We’re just looking for some improvement," Khensouri said. "I had four of the players working with me this summer, and I felt they all improved."</p><p><strong>Franklin Grizzly Cubs</strong></p><p>Coach: Rusty Hughes</p><p>Last season: 6-10; lost to Greenwood in first round of sectional</p><p>Key returnees: Luke Neville and Nathan Tyler, seniors; Jackson Hedges and Jackson Klem, juniors; Sam Auger and Nolan Netter, sophomores.</p><p>Key newcomers: Caleb Funkhouser, Dylan Funkhouser, Pryce Rucker, Cole Tucker and Devin Tyler, freshmen.</p><p>Outlook: Hughes, the longtime Franklin girls coach, takes over the boys as well. He looks forward to the challenge of returning the Grizzly Cubs to winning seasons, and knows the importance of setting the tone this fall. "I’m real excited. It’s going to be a year where we define ourselves by how much we improve, not wins and losses," Hughes said. "We want to get to the point where we are competitive with good teams by the end of the season."</p><p><strong>Greenwood Woodmen</strong></p><p>Coach: Jeremy Runge</p><p>Last season: 10-5; lost to Center Grove in sectional semifinal</p><p>Key returnees: Ben Sobieray, senior; Nick Belovic, Charlie Brooks and Ethan Gray, juniors; Aidan Luttrell, sophomore</p><p>Key newcomers: Thomas Burtt, junior; Sam Fenner, sophomore</p><p>Outlook: Gray’s return at No. 1 singles is crucial, while Belovic was 10-2 in the third singles spot last fal. "In terms of depth, I think we’ll be pretty comparable to last season," Runge said. "To be better, we have to be more consistent through doubles. We were about .500 at 1 doubles and below .500 in 2 doubles. I think we’ll be more consistent there this season."</p><p><strong>Indian Creek Braves</strong></p><p>Coach: Dave Broshears</p><p>Last season: 2-12; lost to Whiteland in sectional semifinal</p><p>Key returnees: Garrett Dalton, Andrew Long and Mitchell Walls, seniors; Jake Mitchell and Jaden Schrougham, juniors; Cass Mitchell, sophomore</p><p>Key newcomers: Brendan Conner and Aiden Pemberton, freshmen.</p><p>Outlook: The Braves return six of seven starters, the lone graduation being half of the top doubles team. "It will be interesting because we still have a relatively young team," said Broshears, who starts his sixth season. "I’m kind of excited because they changed our conference format around so that we play everybody in the regular season."</p><p><strong>Whiteland Warriors</strong></p><p>Coach: Mike Gillespie</p><p>Last season: 16-2, second in Mid-State Conference; lost to Center Grove in sectional championship</p><p>Key returnees: Wesley Hawk, Garrison Pelfree, Lane Stephenson and Kyle Zajac, seniors; Caidyn Baumann, Christian Felker, Quinten Gillespie, Josh Pitts and Travis Robinson, juniors; Corbin Grantham, Dylan Gross, Ariss Mardanzai, sophomores</p><p>Key newcomers: Drew Higdon, sophomore; Ty McCullars, freshman</p><p>Outlook: Junior No. 1 singles player Quinten Gillespie is one of six starters back for the Warriors, who could be in line to contend for the program’s second sectional crown. "With six out of the seven back, we have pretty high expectations," coach Mike Gillespie said. "The ultimate goal is trying to get out of sectional. You’ve just got to win the big points and the big matches. We’ve got pretty good players and they set their standards pretty high."</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
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