THB Boys Tennis Athlete of the Year: Madison-Grant's Luke Gilman
Dec. 1—FAIRMOUNT — Inspired by an older brother to take up the sport and driven to succeed by himself and his teammates, Luke Gilman led Madison-Grant to the school's first boys tennis Central Indiana Conference title and first tennis sectional title in 2022 as the No. 1 singles player for the Argylls.
With his own outstanding season as the focal point for the team, Gilman has been named the 2022 THB Sports Boys Tennis Athlete of the Year.
"Having the year I did, especially with the teammates around me and the other players around Madison County, it's surprising for it to be me," Gilman said.
After coming up short against CIC rival Mississinewa a year ago, the Argylls were not going to settle for second best in 2022. Gilman finished the year 18-7 and led his team to a 21-5 mark, earning for himself All-CIC honors for the second straight year, a spot on the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association's All-District team and honorable mention All-State status, also from the IHSTeCA.
M-G coach Tony Pitt was also named Coach of the Year by the IHSTeCA.
Gilman started playing the game at a young age and began working toward competitive play after joining older brother, Jace — now playing his sophomore year at Huntington University — for practices while in middle school.
"I would just go with him, and it ended up me asking the junior high coach if I could practice with them, and he said yes," Gilman said. "Christopher (Fox) tagged along with me, and that's how it all began. (Jace) kind of brought me under his wing. Over the summer, he would go out and hit with me and teach me.
"He's been one of the biggest influences on my life."
A short time later, he was playing the No. 1 spot for the Argylls, where he won 15 matches as a freshman.
While happy with his season this year, he would like to see a bigger improvement going forward.
"It looks good on paper," he said. "I feel like I could have snuck in a few more wins, but at the end of the day, that's a great record to have."
Upset at watching Mississinewa celebrate the sectional championship in 2021, M-G was driven to avoid having to watch that unfold once again. The sophomore said he knew this would be a special season even before it began when the Argylls played a tough Peru team in their preseason scrimmage.
"I just knew we were going to have a good team and this was going to be a great year," he said.
Along with junior singles players Fox and Clayton Hull and doubles players Davin Barton, Soren Price, Brogan Brunt and Ben Pax, Gilman and the Argylls ran the table in the conference and swept to postseason wins over Mississinewa and Marion in sectional before a third straight 5-0 win over Frankton in the regional semifinals. It was only against powerhouse Delta — making its 30th consecutive regional trip — that the upstart M-G team was stopped by a 4-1 count.
Not unlike the previous year's disappointment, this year's success can fuel the desire for more success in 2023.
"Just seeing (Delta) celebrate, I don't want that to happen again," Gilman said. "For the seniors next year, I don't want them to fall short again. I want us to be that team that is remembered."
Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.
