By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Carmel tennis tradition added another championship Thursday, as the No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Greyhounds boys team won its 31st sectional title.
Carmel defeated No. 10 Guerin Catholic 5-0 at the Todd Witsken Tennis Center. It’s the eighth consecutive title for the ‘Hounds, and the 26th in the past 27 years.
Four of the five matches went quickly, but the No. 1 doubles match went the distance. The Greyhounds’ Timmy Dixon and Drew Michael were involved in a battle with the Golden Eagles’ Jacob Bratton and Wyatt Metzger that was tense and spirited.
Dixon and Michael won the first set 6-4, with Bratton and Metzger answering the call in the second set by taking a tiebreak 8-6. The Carmel duo got an early 3-0 advantage in the third set, and held off a late comeback by the GC team to win the set 6-3.
“Nothing’s ever easy,” said Greyhounds coach Spencer Fields. “Guerin knows us really well and has played as a top 10 team all year in the state. I think the team did well today. We’re hitting our stride, we’re gaining focus, we are playing good, solid tennis, high-percentage tennis. We’re minimizing our errors, and that’s causing some of the scores to be better. They seem easy, but they’re never easy.”
While the team result had long been decided, the No. 1 doubles match was important, as it keeps Dixon and Michael in contention for the individual doubles tournament. No. 1 singles Patrick Fletchall won his match 6-0, 6-1; he is the defending champion in the individual singles tournament.
Fletchall is a four-year player for Carmel, making him a four-year sectional champion.
“It means a lot,” said Fletchall. “With Guerin in our sectional, it’s always tough.”
Fletchall and Dixon are the only seniors on the Greyhounds’ top seven.
“We have some great underclassmen that can lead the team the next few years,” said Fletchall. “So it’s just good to hand off the torch to them and see what they can do.”
Next up for Carmel is the Kokomo regional, to be played Tuesday and Wednesday. The Greyhounds will await the winner of the West Lafayette sectional, which will be decided today between the Red Devils and Harrison.
As for Carmel, it officially has the day off today, then will get back to work to prepare for Kokomo.
“I’m sure these guys will play tennis, a lot of them will play tomorrow, even without practice,” said Fields. “But they need a rest. We’ve played a lot actually, so they need a rest.”
AT CARMEL
Carmel 5, Guerin Catholic 0
No. 1 singles: Patrick Fletchall def. Michael Wade 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 singles: Presley Thienenman def. Cole Metzger 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Nishanth Basavareddy def. Michael Aikman 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Timmy Dixon and Drew Michael def. Jacob Bratton and Wyatt Metzger 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3
No. 2 doubles: Garrett Lloyd and Uday Lomada def. AJ Hacker and Shane Shuler 6-1, 6-1
Meanwhile, Fishers made school history Thursday by winning its first-ever boys tennis sectional championship.
The No. 8-ranked Tigers triumphed at the Hamilton Southeastern sectional, beating Noblesville 5-0. Fishers won all the matches in straight sets. The Tigers did get a battle at No. 1 doubles, as Ethan Fairfield and Sam Barrett were extended to 7-5 in the second set by the Millers’ Ben Smith and Evan Voigt.
Fishers will next play at the North Central regional, which also takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. The Tigers will take on the No. 2-ranked Panthers in the Tuesday semi-finals. North Central won its own sectional Thursday – the 40th in school history, which is second all-time behind Munster.
AT SOUTHEASTERN
Fishers 5, Noblesville 0
No. 1 singles: William White def. Jacob Hoffman 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 singles: Nic Knoderer def. Jackson Nance 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Marcus Luke def. Zach Greer 6-0, 6-0
No. 1 doubles: Ethan Fairfield and Sam Barrett def. Ben Smith and Evan Voigt 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 doubles: Drew Dixon and Shravan Suravarjjala def. Ryan Plummer and Jackson Ramey 6-3, 6-1
The Carmel boys tennis team won its eighth consecutive sectional championship Thursday at the Todd Witsken Tennis Center. The Greyhounds will travel to Kokomo next week for the regional. (Richie Hall)
Fishers won its first-ever boys sectional championship Thursday. The Tigers won the Hamilton Southeastern sectional over Noblesville, and will play North Central in the regional semi-finals on Tuedsay. (Photo provided)