By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The Fishers boys tennis team got its first taste of the regional on Tuesday.
The Tigers played host North Central in the semi-final round. Both teams are ranked in the top 10: Fishers is No. 8 and the Panthers are No. 2. North Central had a little too much for the Tigers, winning 5-0 and advancing to today’s championship.
Still, Fishers battled. No. 2 singles Nic Knoderer played a tough match before losing 6-4, 6-2. No. 3 singles Marcus Luke recovered from dropping the first set 6-0 and battled TJ Brady to 7-5 in the second set.
“We got six of the seven guys coming back and we played them pretty tough,” said Tigers coach Dave Heffern. “The scores might not reflect it so much. We’re going to be much better next year, so this is going to go a long way in helping us. We played seven or eight top 10 teams this year, so we’re getting a lot of experience.”
Fishers finished its season 11-6 in dual meets, and won the Warsaw Invitational in addition to its first-ever sectional championship.
Meanwhile, Carmel cruised past West Lafayette 5-0 Tuesday in the semi-finals of the Kokomo regional.
The No. 1 Greyhounds will play Western today for the championship.
Fishers 5, North Central 0
No. 1 singles: William White lost to I. Brady 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Nic Knoderer lost to Mahenthirin 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 singles: Marcus Luke lost to TJ Brady 6-0, 7-5
No. 1 doubles: Ethan Fairfield and Sam Barrett lost to Prein and McAuley 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 doubles: Drew Dixon and Shravan Saravajjala lost to Beck and Tuerk 6-1, 6-0
Nic Knoderer played No. 2 singles for the Fishers boys tennis team during the sectional and its regional semi-final with North Central. (Richie Hall)