Carmel will be trying for a third consecutive boys tennis state championship this weekend.
The No. 1-ranked Greyhounds are among the top five teams and six of the top eight from the final regular season poll from the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association are in this weekend’s field to determine the 2018 boys tennis state champion.
Four quarter-final matches will be played Friday at Carmel and Center Grove high schools, with the winning teams advancing to the semi-final matches on Saturday at 10 am at North Central High School followed by the state championship match at 2 p.m.
One of the quarter-final matches at Carmel’s Todd Witsken Tennis Center is a matchup of the top two teams in the state as the top-ranked host Greyhounds will take on second-ranked Homestead, a rematch of a Sept. 21 meeting that Carmel won, 4-1. The Greyhounds are the two-time defending state champion and are making the school’s ninth consecutive state finals appearance. That Sept. 21 loss was Homestead’s only setback this season, which is making its second straight visit and 20th overall.
The other quarter-final at Carmel pits fourth-ranked Floyd Central and fifth-ranked Center Grove. Floyd Central sustained its only setback back on Aug. 18 to fellow state finalist North Central of Indianapolis and is appearing at this level of the tournament for the first time since 2006. Center Grove, which faced five of the other state finalists during the regular season, last played in the state finals in 2014. The matches at Carmel begin at 3 p.m.
At Center Grove, third-ranked North Central, far and away the state’s leader in championships (20) and appearances (29) will face No. 23 Culver Academies, making its fourth trip in five seasons and second in a row.
Eighth-ranked Park Tudor will meet No. 14 Columbus North in the other quarterfinal at Center Grove. The Panthers were ousted by Carmel in last year’s semi-finals while Columbus North returns to the state finals for the first time in 10 years and seventh overall.
The matches at Center Grove will start at 11 a.m.
The Carmel boys tennis team added another sectional championship to their total two weeks ago, and now will look to add another state championship this weekend. The No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Greyhounds host No. 2 Homestead Friday afternoon in the state quarter-finals. (Richie Hall/File photo)