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The first seven matches of the Saline-Greenhills girls tennis dual all finished in straight sets Tuesday, and players crowded around to watch the final remaining one, No. 4 singles.

When the two players split the first two sets, the coaches huddled together to decide whether or not to play out the entire third set with everyone else already finished. For Gryphons coach Mark Randolph, there was no question he wanted his player, freshman Anjali Purohit, to play out the set.

“This is a great day for her to come out here and to learn how to play the game,” Randolph said later.

Randolph recognized the value in the court time for Purohit, who would go on to win the third set and the Gryphons’ only match of the day. The match marked her best tennis of the year, he said.

Randolph has led Greenhills knows getting to the pinnacle of Michigan high school tennis, and he’s knows it will take patience and plenty of practice -- like a third set in already-clinched match -- to get back there.

“There’s a short game and there’s a long game, and we’re going to try to play the long game,” Randolph said. “It took me 12 years to build up a program where we could win the state championship. Life is about cycles. We’re going to have to gear up again.”

Consider the 2013 season the start of the post-Kasey Gardiner cycle. Gardiner won two state titles for the Gryphons in an undefeated high school career, and went off to Wake Forest to play this season.

Her freshman year, Greenhills won its first and only girls tennis state title in 2009.

She’s one of seven players from last year’s team -- which finished third in the state finals -- that have moved on. That includes No. 2 singles state champion Colleen O’Brien, who won a No. 1 singles regional title for Father Gabriel Richard Thursday.

What Randolph was left with was a young lineup and a rebuild on his hands. None of his 2013 singles lineup played singles at the high school level last year: three played varsity doubles, and Purohit entered as a freshman.

Last year’s No. 4 doubles team from last year moved up to play No. 1 doubles this year. Everyone else in doubles is new.

There’s been plenty of instruction this year, and the Gryphons won’t be returning to the state tournament after placing fourth in Thursday’s regional.

“We need experience in every facet of the game and especially in competing well,” Randolph said. “My hope is that this is a step in the direction of learning how to compete. We’ll see if we can build on that next year, that’s our plan at least.”

This year’s lineup features only two seniors -- Rae Schueller at No. 1 singles, Emily Chung at No. 2 singles. In addition, there is one junior, seven sophomores and a freshman.

“It’s a completely new experience for everybody,” Schueller said. “A lot of the girls have never even played doubles before, so it was a completely new experience.”

For the Gryphons, this spring was a bad one to be one of the rainiest and coldest in recent memory, multiple early competitions couldn’t be held.

But the hopes are still high for the future, particularly for the large sophomore class, that it can bring the Gryphons back to the state finals.

“I’m hoping that they’ll step up and they’ll learn the lessons of competition and teamwork and start building something special,” Randolph said. “It’s always up to the athletes to decide how much they want to invest in the activity. If they want to make it special, then it will be special. I can’t make it so for them.”

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.