Coming off a Sectional championship and a well-played first round at the Evansville North Regional where the Titan tennis team shut out North Posey 5-0, post-season play came to an end for the boys against the Memorial Tigers. Despite the loss, the doubles team of junior Noah Kiesel and senior John Kiesel was able to move on to the Regional championship against Evansville North. The team lost to Evansville Memorial 4-1, and the Kiesel brothers lost in the championship in two sets: 6-2 and then 6-1.
“I feel like the guys really took what little practice time we had and tried to make the necessary changes in their game,” head coach Kyle Deboard said. “The singles would work every day. We practiced keeping the ball deep and finishing the point when at the net. The doubles spent a lot of time working on returning serves and slop volleys. Very few teams could hang with us when we were volleying at the net.”
While the Kiesel brothers won their match in the Regional Semifinal in three sets, 6-2, losing 6-3 in the second and then winning their third set 6-2, senior Landon Kiesel, junior Lucas Church and freshman Jaxun Curl lost their singles matches. London Kiesel fell in two sets, 6-0 and 6-0; Church lost in two sets, 6-0 and 6-1 and Curl was shut out 6-0 and 6-0 in his two sets. Senior Dawson Maurer and senior Grant Wade lost in the doubles match, dropping in two sets, 6-3 and 6-3.
“Moving on to the next round meant a lot for both of us,” John Kiesel said. “It wasn’t our best match against North, but we tried our best.”
The loss against North meant the end of five seniors’ high school tennis careers.
“We had a tough time going up against North,” Maurer said. “We could not come out on top, and it was a very tough battle. I am going to miss playing with my teammates but now have to focus on the sport.”
The boys finished the season with a record of 19-5, a new school record for most team wins in a season. The previous record was 17. The doubles team of John Kiesel and Noah Kiesel and the doubles team of Maurer and Grant also set the school record for the most doubles wins in a season. Both teams had 24 wins. The previous record was 21.
“It is always sad to see the season come to an end,” DeBord said. “We were able to see some records fall and even win a Sectional for the first time in 10 years. We got to see this group rally together and become a team. I’m really proud of this group of guys.”
