Norwalk tennis adjusts to injuries, schedule

NORWALK — Like most things, it looked near perfect on paper. But things almost also never work out that way. In 2025, the Norwalk High School girls tennis team finished 14-5 overall and 10-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division, good for a fourth consecutive league championship. The only losses were to powerhouse Division I programs Perrysburg, Toledo St. Ursula, and Sylvania Northview, along with Div. II Port Clinton (20-1) twice. Looking to this fall, the Truckers graduated just one senior — at second doubles — from the seven-player lineup from 2025. It appeared Norwalk was again experienced and loaded for a run at a fifth straight league title and the Div. II tournament. "Then, a lot of things happened," senior doubles player Riley Helton said. Early in the summer, one of the expected contenders for the open doubles spot, Libby Lark, rolled her ankle playing basketball. Shortly after, three-year starter Addy Rospert (second singles) suffered a similar injury playing pickle ball. On June 25, the OHSAA announced the enrollment figures for the upcoming tennis season. Norwalk's figure of 277 girls was just one over the cutoff, pushing the Truckers to Div. I for the sectional tournament in October. That meant a very challenging path against those same teams like Perrysburg and other big Toledo area schools. Then, the final blow came in the summer in the form of another injury. But this one was much worse than the others, as senior Alyssa Gruhlke — another three-year starter — tore her ACL on July 12 at an AAU basketball tournament in Louisville. The returning first doubles starter with classmate Aubrey Kluding was coming off an SBC tournament title last year. "We have also grown up together since we were two years old," Kluding said of Gruhlke. "We thought maybe there was hope she could play briefly, so that part of it was also tough." Helton, who won 22 matches last year with the graduated Chloe Hazelwood, was moved up to first doubles with Kluding. They enter this weekend's Port Clinton doubles tournament with a 7-4 record. As easy as it sounds, both players have been forced to adjust to who and where they were expecting to play. "It's different playing with Aubrey, but she's definitely made me a better player so far," Helton said. "I do put a lot of pressure on myself because I only played two years of tennis, and this is my last go. "But I really just want to try and give it my all." Kluding said while processing Gruhlke's injury was tough, she had to change her mindset. "It's my senior year, and you only get one, so I just told myself to go out and have fun," she said. "Riley and I, it feels like we're getting the hang of it together. It's a new look, but it's also fun." Through eight matches as a team, the Truckers are 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the new Northern Ohio Conference Lake Division. The lone loss was a narrow 3-2 setback to Port Clinton on Aug. 10. "We love multi-sport athletes," fifth-year head coach Harry Love said. "And I'd have taken three years of Alyssa playing with the risk of her getting injured in any one of them, or anyone, because it's good for them to play and they have fun. "I'd rather a kid play three sports and have fun doing it as opposed to being paranoid about that risk of going outside or walking up a set of stairs. It's just part of being a kid." But the injury to Gruhlke was only part one of Love's lineup dilemma. He already knew his four-year starter and No. 1 singles player Lydia Trost was going to miss a week on a school trip near Alaska. That meant navigating a week with three matches, including on two on the road at NOC foes Bellevue and Clyde, without two starters. Still, the Truckers came out of it with flying colors. Kluding went 3-0 at singles, while Lark bumped up to first doubles to play with Helton. They are 2-1 playing together. Lark's normal second doubles partner, Scarlet Schneider, went 1-2 with teammate Amelia Bodell. New to varsity this season, Lark and Schneider are also 9-2 playing together entering Saturday. "With Lydia's trip, we knew Clyde had most of their team back, but we felt comfortable with it," Love said. "But then it required someone playing singles or someone who didn't play before. We have a smaller team this year with a lot of first-time players who have seen quite a bit of varsity already to their benefit. "But it came at the cost of something else. The depth was the strength. It wasn't a five-alarm fire; we just had to manage, and girls had to step up throughout the summer, which we saw a lot of that and felt good about it." Through eight matches, Love said Lark and Schneider taking control at second doubles has been key. "The level they've been able to find and perform at has been awesome," he said. "It's been a real difference maker so far in terms of keeping our expectations where we thought they'd be at the end of last school year. "We've been able to continue to be really strong at all five spots, and we go into every match feeling like we can compete at every spot. As a coach, you avoid facing a situation where one player feels the pressure that they have to win for the team to have a chance. I think that was our biggest strength before and after this." At the three singles positions, Trost is 5-3 so far, while Rospert is 8-3 at No. 2, and Leksi Jurczuk is 9-2 at the third spot This weekend, Norwalk will again be tested in Port Clinton. Along with the host Redskins, the doubles tournament features programs like Ottawa Hills, Lima Shawnee, and a St. Mary Central Catholic team the Truckers beat 3-2 on Tuesday. Those opponents set the stage for Monday, when the Truckers host Tiffin Columbian in what is expected to be another huge NOC Lake match. Norwalk won both times, 3-2, last season to claim the outright title. The Tornadoes returned five of their seven starters, including first singles standout Leah Weingart. "Just the jump everyone made from our first invite to last Wednesday at Clyde was significant," Love said. "Getting a match like we had against SMCC and what's turned into a really stacked invite at Port Clinton, we really couldn't ask for much more as far as prep going into Columbian." Helton said the Truckers are taking things day by day, but the team knows what awaits next week and beyond. Norwalk is 42-1 in league play in the last four-plus years, with a loss at Columbian in 2022. "We know what Columbian has been to our program," Helton said. "It's the first of two and another in a big line of matches with them."