TERRE HAUTE — Re-inventing her game on the fly, in the midst of an already brilliant high school tennis career, Terre Haute North’s Brittany Farmer finished on a high note earlier this month with a third-place finish at the state singles tournament that matches the best a Terre Haute player has ever done under the current tournament format.
Which is one of the reasons why she’s the Tribune-Star’s Female Athlete of the Year for spring sports.
She was the first winner of one of the female awards that have been presented the past seven seasons, earning her first such distinction in the spring of 2007 when, as a sophomore, she was coming off a second straight Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference singles championship.
She won the McMillan Award as a junior, although that turned out to be the only season during which neither she nor the Patriots advanced in postseason play. Then as a senior she led the Patriots to a top-10 ranking in the state — North lost to eventual state champion Carmel and had two excruciatingly close losses to eventual fourth-place Terre Haute South — and continued in singles play until losing a semifinal match to eventual champion Mary Hill of Munster.
Kristen Clary of South also placed third in the state during the 2002 season.
“I’m really glad I finished my senior year so strong,” Farmer said this week by telephone from a vacation destination. “During the MIC meet [in May] I gained a lot of confidence, and my game went up from there. I was at the top of my game [at the end of the season].”
“She had a fantastic season,” coach Jim Cook of the Patriots agreed. “The year before she was making some changes in her game, and that’s always hard on anybody.
“But the latter half [of this season, during which she didn’t lose after the MIC meet until facing Hill], she gained confidence in what she was doing and it all panned out for her … she beat two girls [in the state tournament] who had been undefeated, and they were all good players [that she faced].”
Her place in North’s tennis history is secure, Cook added.
“She’s had a fantastic career,” the coach said. “I can’t name another player who was all-MIC for four years, and she won [the conference] as a freshman and a sophomore. She was first-team all-state three time and second team once … and went to the Final Four with the team as a freshman and as an individual as a senior. She had a record of 81-12 for her career.”
“I had a good career at North thanks to my coaches and all my teammates, and I thank them for all their support,” Farmer said. “I had a lot of fun.”
Playing for the Patriots, she added, was “quite an honor. I’m really happy I helped North High School have a good name in the tennis community.”
Cook admitted to be sorry he’s no longer Farmer’s coach. “Any coach would be sorry to see her leave,” he said. “She’ll be an outstanding player as she moves on to her college career [at Butler].” That 81-12 record is only part of the reason.
“She’s won numerous sportsmanship awards, including some from the [Central Indiana Tennis Association] that aren’t given out very often,” Cook said. “She’s a real smart kid … 11th in her class … and she was always pleasant.”
No matter the circumstances during the play of the match, Cook indicated, “she was always gracious, win or lose. She’s a real good sportsman, and that’s something that meant a lot to her and her family.”
n Evidence — Farmer returns in the next couple of days from a long-planned vacation trip with her mother, then will play in some tournaments for college-bound players — “I’ve aged out of my old tournaments,” she said — before reporting to Butler later this summer.
Her comments for this article appear because of that graciousness that Cook mentioned. She took time out of her vacation schedule to return a call to a reporter that may have increased her cell phone charges somewhat.
Because she called from Paris.
And it was after midnight in France.
Softball
Haley Chambers, Riverton Parke, co-Player of the Year
Stephanie Fougerousse, Linton, co-Player of the Year
Brandi Ashcraft, Shakamak
Heather Austin, Casey
Derryn Axtell, North Vermillion
Sammy Barbee, North Central
Carmen Beabout, Hutsonville-Palestine
Brooke Boetjer, South Putnam
Amber Byrley, Hutsonville-Palestine
Izzy Carpenter, Linton
Bethany Chew, North Vermillion
Hannah Chew, North Vermillion
Mikayla Crane, Shakamak
Tasha Collenbaugh, Clay City
Shelby Colson, Northview
Mackenzie Connelly, Casey
Alyssa Conrad, Northview
Mallory Cook, Marshall
Danielle Davis, Marshall
Nicole Davis, Oblong
Laura Draper, South Vermillion
Raven Enders, Northview
Tiffany Fendrick, Terre Haute South
Casey Fougerousse, Shakamak
Siera Fuller, Bloomfield
Gina Furrey, West Vigo
Megan Gambill, Union
Shelby Gott, Bloomfield
Ashley Gordon, Rockville
Lindsey Greene, Rockville
Mikayla Grindle, Riverton Parke
Paige Gutierrez, Cloverdale
Ciara Hall, Terre Haute South
Kellie Harvey, Turkey Run
Amber Hilderbrand, Robinson
Haylee Holtsclaw, White River Valley
Brittney Isom, Terre Haute North
Danielle Ketner, Terre Haute North
Kirsten Kimball, Northview
Ashley Kinne, Riverton Parke
Shelby Leeman, Paris
Alisha Lowery, Sullivan
Jazmine Martin, Shakamak
Whitney Mathas, Riverton Parke
Alannah McKinley, Sullivan
Kelly Meggs, Terre Haute North
Rachel Mowery, White River Valley
Michelle Natalie, South Vermillion
Carly O’Rourke, Marshall
Emily Phillips, Northview
Kayla Price, Terre Haute South
Kara Repp, Casey
Ashley Rich, Oblong
Jenica Ringo, Linton
Ashli Scott, North Central
Danielle Smith, Oblong
Kasey Smith, Robinson
Kendra Spelts, Bloomfield
Megan Stone, North Central
Marissa Stout, Terre Haute South
Bethany Sullivan, Terre Haute North
Siona Taft, North Central
Shelby Targett, Clay City
Macy Toon, Terre Haute South
Tierra Tuttle, Hutsonville-Palestine
Megan Vincent, Riverton Parke
Hilary Vukovits, Rockville
Megan Whitacre, Paris
Rachel Whitlock, Sullivan
Kayla Wilson, Rockville
Alicyn Woodward, West Vigo
Alex Woody, Turkey Run
Brittany Farmer, Terre Haute North, Player of the Year, Spring Sports Athlete of the Year
Emma Bilyeu, Terre Haute South
Hunter Bullock, Terre Haute South
Taylor Bullock, Terre Haute South
Maddie Kesler, Terre Haute South
Mallory Metheny, Terre Haute South
Sarah Potter, Terre Haute North
Allie Piper, Paris, Athlete of the Year
Kelsey Anderson, White River Valley
Kelsey Andis, Linton
Arianne Bell, Terre Haute South
Ashley Burkins, Terre Haute North
Elizabeth Cheatham, Cloverdale
Emily Cotterman, Terre Haute North
Alex Daluga, Linton
Katie English, Marshall
Sheldan Falls, Riverton Parke
Caitlin Gannaway, Greencastle
Shelby Higginbottom, North Central
Tait Johnson, Terre Haute South
Lindy Jones, Terre Haute North
Gabrielle Kuhn, Marshall
Janelle Lucas, West Vigo
Alexa McFadden, Terre Haute North
Maddy Nelson, Terre Haute North
Annie Smiley, Northview
Brittany Solomon, West Vigo
Samantha Solomon, Northview
LeAnn Spesard, Paris
Brianne Steppe, Terre Haute South
Mackenzie Tarble, Marshall
Shandi Travis, Northview
Rachel Welker, Terre Haute North
Megan Wilkey, Terre Haute North
Dee Wood, Greencastle
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