By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Mudsock battle has already gotten a little interesting.
Fishers won the Mudsock Trophy in boys tennis Wednesday, with the No. 14-ranked Tigers beating No. 21 Hamilton Southeastern 3-2. Since Fishers won the Mudsock in girls golf last week, the Tigers are now 2-0 in the competition for the traveling trophy this school year.
For Fishers coach Dave Heffern, this was the first time in his five-year tenure that his team beat the Royals.
“First time we’ve beat HSE in my tenure here, and we’ve had some really close, tiebreak in the third set matches with them in the sectional and stuff, so it was good to come out on top,” said Heffern.
While the final score looks close, the Tigers won all three singles matches in straight sets to quickly clinch the meet. No. 3 singles Marcus Luke was first off the court with a 6-2, 6-2 victory; No. 2 singles Nick Knoderer won 6-0, 6-2, and No. 1 singles Will White was the decider, 6-3, 6-2.
“I got three good singles players,” said Heffern. “All three of the kids are good enough to qualify for the Midwest Championships held by the USTA in the summertime.”
In doubles, HSE’s No. 1 team of Andrew Myers and Mark Slaninka got the Royals’ first point with a 7-5, 7-5 victory. The No. 2 doubles team of Matthew Parker and Matt Meyer finished their match with a win, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
The dual win moved Fishers to 2-2 on the season. The Tigers have beaten Anderson, but lost duals to two of Indiana’s best: No. 2-ranked North Central and No. 3 Park Tudor.
“We try to play everybody that’s tough,” said Heffern. “I spent 17 years at Park Tudor and I found out there that if you don’t play the tough teams, when you get to the end of the season, then all of a sudden you’re playing them, you don’t know what to expect. We’re going to play them as much as we can. We don’t have Carmel on our schedule yet, but hopefully next year. We’re just going to get after it and keep going hard.”
The Royals are 2-3 for the season and will play some tough competition on Saturday, as they travel to North Central for the annual John Shirley Invitational – a tournament that attracts many of the best teams in the state.
Hamilton Heights jumped ahead of the .500 mark on Wednesday by beating Eastern 3-2.
The Huskies won the first two matches, with No. 2 singles Hudson Hochstedler zooming to victory 6-1, 6-1, and his older brother Hawkins Hochstedler taking the No. 1 singles match 6-2, 6-4. Heights dropped both doubles matches in straight sets, which left the meet in the hands of the No. 3 singles players.
The Huskies’ Adam Gross delivered, coming back from a set down to win at No. 3 singles 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. With that, Heights improved its dual record to 3-2 for the season.
“It was certainly great to see Adam Gross fight his way through that third set tonight and get the win, but what was even bigger was seeing how excited our whole team got after he finished his last point,” said Huskies coach Cameron Scott. “Matches like this are fun, and there’s no doubt this one could have gone either way. Both Hochstedler boys played some of their best tennis of the year and continue to get better and better. But what we can’t lose sight of on a night like this is how much better our doubles guys continue to get, as well. This team is really growing, and we’re having a blast through the process.”
Noblesville fell to No. 19 Zionsville 5-0 on Wednesday.
The Eagles won all the matches in straight sets, although Jacob Hoffman battled at No. 1 singles before falling 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Noblesville plays at Heritage Christian this afternoon.
The Fishers boys tennis team won the Mudsock meet on Wednesday, getting past Hamilton Southeastern 3-2. The Tigers swept all three singles matches to clinch the trophy. (Richie Hall)