<p>The continuing evolvement of the winningest boys tennis player in Whiteland history started innocently enough.</p><p>In 2005, Mike and Jenny Gillespie, living in an apartment while their house was under construction, happened upon an enclosed tennis court. They filled a wagon with toys so that their 2-year-old son Quinten had no shortage of entertainment options while they played tennis.</p><p>The toddler was having none of it.</p><p>“Within five minutes, Quinten was like, ‘I don’t want these toys. Give me a racquet,’” said Mike Gillespie, the Warriors’ coach since 2002, the year before the oldest of the couple’s three sons was born. “The rest is history, and he’s been playing ever since.”</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Few in the history of Johnson County tennis, male or female, have done it better.</p><p>Quinten Gillespie, a 6-foot-1, 150-pound bundle of positive energy, has been Whiteland’s No. 1 singles player since the start of the 2017 season. He and his teammates start what they hope is a lengthy postseason run this week at the Center Grove Sectional.</p><p>Gillespie, a second team all-state selection as a sophomore and junior, is 20-2 this season, with both losses coming to Greenwood senior Ethan Gray. Gillespie is also ranked in the top five in his class academically with a 4.2 grade-point average.</p><p>Earlier this month, Quinten Gillespie became the school’s career leader in victories, passing former Warrior standout Sam Venter’s mark of 70. The record-setting win came at the Mid-State Conference tournament, which was won by Whiteland for the first time in eight years.</p><p>The Warriors are 68-11 with Gillespie in the lineup over the past four years, including a 25-3 record against conference opponents. The senior’s career record at the top singles spot is 78-14.</p><p>“It’s crazy. It’s still mind-boggling to think I hold the school record for most wins,” Quinten Gillespie said. “It’s cool to hold it, but I’m really looking for championships and things of that nature.”</p><p>Mike Gillespie remembers when Quinten was in third and fourth grade. He and members of the Warriors varsity would jog over to get Quinten from the elementary school and bring him over to the high school courts to watch practice.</p><p>Even at that age, Quinten was outperforming some of his father’s players.</p><p>“It’s just the strategizing. It’s very different than most things,” Quinten Gillespie said while trying to explain his almost immediate attraction to all things tennis. “It’s complicated and a lot harder than people think, and I just love the challenge of it.</p><p>“Getting into high school, I thought I was decent at this sport and thought I could go far and do great things. That was the time I thought I really needed to focus because maybe I could do it in college.”</p><p>Quinten Gillespie is virtually assured of playing at the next level, though he has yet to commit. Whichever school lands him is going to get a player who derives more satisfaction from watching his teammates be successful on and off the court.</p><p>“He’s a big-time team guy. The team accomplishments are more important to him than the individual accomplishments,” Mike Gillespie said. “And he’s very well-rounded. Most tennis players of his caliber just play tennis. Quinten plays basketball, and academics are very important to him.</p><p>“I’m proud of the person he is. He’s a great tennis player, but he’s a better person.”</p><p>Quinten’s younger brothers, Spencer, an eighth-grader, and Grady, who is in fourth grade, also enjoy tennis. Should they one day play for their father, comparisons to their oldest sibling — fair or not — will be inevitable.</p><p>“I worry about that for them. I tell them all the time, ‘You’re not Quinten. I don’t expect you to be Quinten,’” Mike Gillespie said. “They’re completely different players. They’re different kids. They’re serious about tennis, but he’s on a different level of seriousness.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>Center Grove Sectional</strong></p><p><strong>Wednesday</strong></p><p>Indian Creek vs. Franklin, 4:30 p.m.</p><p><strong>Thursday</strong></p><p>Center Grove vs. Greenwood, 4:30 p.m.</p><p>Indian Creek-Franklin winner vs. Whiteland, 4:30 p.m.</p><p><strong>Friday</strong></p><p>Championship, 4:30 p.m.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
