GREENWOOD, Article written by Lewis Bagley (Indy Star) – Carmel senior Elyse Nelson couldn’t have picked a better, or more dramatic, way to end her tennis career. With the two-time defending state champs facing a formidable challenge from South Bend Saint Joseph in the IHSAA state championship match at Center Grove on Saturday, Carmel’s hopes rested solely on the shoulders of their No. 2 singles player after the teams split the first four matches. “There was definitely a lot more pressure out there today,” Nelson said, as she found herself facing an 0-3 deficit in the second set after dropping the first. “When I was down, I kept thinking about my team and how my match was the decider. I just kept fighting.” Carmel's Elyse Nelson returns the ball Saturday, June 3, 2023, during the IHSAA girls tennis state finals at Center Grove High School in Greenwood. Because she did, she pulled out a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 decision over Ashi Amalnathan giving the Greyhounds and first-year coach Daniel Brunette a 3-2 win and continue their reign atop of Indiana high school tennis. That victory, along with wins at both doubles flights provided Carmel with the edge to claim a state-record 13th championship. More impressively, the program is now 13-0 in state title matches. Few, if any, of those titles came in more razor’s-edge fashion. Saint Joseph came into the postseason ranked No. 1 in the final state poll and that was based on a 3-2 win over Carmel on May 11. This Saint Joe team featured former individual state champion Molly Bellia at one singles, along with Amalnathan and her sophomore sister, Anni, at two and three. That trio combined for only three losses all season and each provided a point in the earlier win over the Greyhounds. So, after Saint Joe earned its spot in the final with a 4-1 win over Franklin in the morning semifinal and Carmel took out northside Fishers in its semifinal by the same, 4-1 count, coach Bill Mountford’s squad came in poised to claim its first state title since 2010. Carmel (24-2) took the first point in the final with two doubles Marina Duncan and Alex Widjala taking a 6-2, 6-1 win over Lily Mayfield and Maggie Nguyen. Saint Joseph evened the score with a hard-fought, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win by Anni Amalnathan over Grace Kim at No. 3. The Carmel Greyhounds won the IHSAA girls tennis state finals Saturday, June 3, 2023, at Center Grove High School in Greenwood. Ali Griffin and Alexa Lewis won in straight sets at one doubles for Carmel before Bellia overcame a sluggish start to post a 7-5, 6-0 victory at one singles over junior Nora Perkins. That left it up to Nelson and Ashi Amalnathan to decide the title on the warm, breezy late afternoon, and early in the second set, it appeared Carmel’s reign might end. But, Nelson dug deep and fought back from her early deficit. “I was taking more time between points and trying to breathe easier,” she said. “My teammates there cheering for me really helped.” “Elyse was very focused today,” Brunette said. “She had to change up her hitting patterns and serve more efficiently. She couldn’t let Ashi control the points.” Nelson broke serve in the third game of the final set and never trailed again, giving Carmel the title. It was a bitterly disappointing loss for Saint Joe, which was eliminated by Carmel in the semifinals in 2022 and lost, 4-1, to the Greyhounds in the title match in 2021. “You just have to give credit to Carmel,” Mountford said. “It was hard for us to have only three spots to win and you have to thread a needle.” Brunette, in fact, felt perhaps the earlier loss to Saint Joseph (18-4) was a turning point. “That may have been a blessing,” said Brunette, who coached North Central to three boys team titles from 2013-15. “I think the team came together at that point and were on a mission to get here.”