Headed into the Sectional championship, after beating the Tecumseh Braves 5-0 and the Pike Central Chargers 4-1, the men’s Titan tennis team faced off against the Princeton Tigers. It was a close battle that came down to the final singles match, the determining factor of who advanced as a team.
The Titans won the match 3-2, with both doubles teams winning, as well as number two singles player Lucas Church.
“The team played very well overall throughout the match,” head coach Kyle DeBord said. “It was nerve-racking watching the last match with Lucas Church playing against Liam Stone. I’m glad we won the match and now have to face off against North Posey, and I’m confident in our team to beat them.”
The game started off with the first doubles team of seniors Grant Wade and Dawson Maurer. They took the first set, winning 6-1. Then, they won the second set 6-3.
“Grant and I started off strong in the first set, winning 6-1,” senior Dawson Maurer said. “We struggled in the second set going down 5-2, and coming back making it 6-6 to force a tiebreaker and won the tiebreaker 7-4.”
The second team of doubles, brothers senior John Kiesel and junior Noah Kiesel, swept their competition going 2-0, winning the first set 6-0, then winning their second set 7-6.
“Noah and I went out there knowing we had to be locked in [in] order to have a chance for the team to win,” John Kiesel said. “We went out confident, played well and took care of business beating our opponents 2-0.”
The singles players had some difficulty with their opponents. The Titans number one singles player, senior Landon Kiesel, lost his match 2-0, losing his first set 6-1, then falling in the second 6-4. The number three singles player, freshman Jaxon Curl, also lost 2-0, falling in his first set 6-3 and dropping the second set 6-0.
After the four teams played, the score stood at 2-2 with one match left, Church’s. As the rest of the team gathered around the court, they relied on Church to clench the win for the team to be able to move on to the Regional. He went into three sets, as he lost the first set 6-3.
“Stone played really well in the first set,” Church said. “He got out ahead quick, and I had to play catch up. He was up 3-0.”
In the second set, Church won 6-3. Stone and Church were neck and neck, with one win each. The next set determined which team would move on. Church found his groove and was able to sweep Stone 6-0, giving the Titans the win and earning them the Sectional title.
“I was just focused on getting the win, not a lot of nerves, just a lot of pressure,” Church said. “The momentum of winning the second set really pushed the third set for me. The fans really helped support – a lot of our guys from the team showed up.”
The boys play North Posey for the first round of the Regional on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
“We need to be ready when we have to face the Vikings, as they will be another tough match,” Maurer said.
