On a perfect fall day, the Carmel boys tennis team added another perfect season to its overflowing record book.
The Greyhounds beat state finals host North Central 3-2 at the Barbara Wynne Tennis Center to claim their fourth consecutive state championship. Carmel finished team season play with a 24-0 record and has now won 83 consecutive dual meets.
It also marks the first time that the Greyhounds have won state four years in a row. The only other team to have a longer streak is North Central, which was a state champion five consecutive years from 1982 to 1986. And (yes, there’s more!) Carmel still has players that will compete in the individual tournament next weekend at Park Tudor.
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Greyhounds coach Bryan Hanan. “We’ve had some good players. It’s never been easy, no matter how good a team we had. This year is probably the hardest. Probably not our most dominant team, but we had a lot of depth and guys that were just moved around to do what’s best for the team. It’s very satisfying.”
Carmel won its three matches in straight sets. No. 1 singles Presley Thienenman was a 6-0, 7-5 winner, while the No. 1 doubles team of Uday Lomada and Jones McNamar cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory. Both Thienenman and Lomada/McNamar were undefeated in the state tournament, so they all advance to next week’s individual event and will be the top seeds in their respective divisions.
No. 2 doubles Broc Fletcher and John Zirkelbach had the quickest day of all, winning 6-0, 6-1 in their match.
“One of the things we talked about is, this year guys are going to have to be willing to play somewhere that you don’t necessarily feel like you should play,” said Hanan. Some players were moved from singles to doubles, others were moved around the lineup.
“Guys didn’t complain,” said Hanan. “They just said, ‘If that’s what’s best for the team, I just want to win a state title.’ And that’s the mindset of this team. That’s why it’s a fun team to coach.”
In the semi-finals, Carmel beat previously undefeated Columbus North 4-1. Ethan Zhang was a straight-set winner at No. 2 singles, in addition to Greyhound victories at No. 1 singles and both doubles.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Carmel 3, North Central 2
No. 1 singles: Presley Thienenman def. Ian Brady 6-0, 7-5
No. 2 singles: Ethan Zhang lost to Ajay Mahenthiran 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 singles: Eli Mercer lost to Maurquis Willingham 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
No. 1 doubles: Uday Lomada and Jones McNamar def. Max Simmel and Richard Smikle 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 doubles: Broc Fletcher and John Zirkelbach def. Carter Bailey and Daniel Ceglio 6-0, 6-1
SEMI-FINALS
Carmel 4, Columbus North 1
No. 1 singles: Presley Thieneman def. Nathan Lin 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 singles: Ethan Zhang def. Bhavey Jain 7-5, 6-1
No. 3 singles: Eli Mercer lost to Adam Saad 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
No. 1 doubles: Uday Lomada and Jones McNamar def. Matthew Liu and Joey Zhao 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 doubles: Broc Fletcher and John Zirkelbach def. Will King and Eamon Ma 6-1, 6-1
SPIRRISON AND VERDE WIN DOUBLES REGIONAL
Hamilton Southeastern’s No. 1 doubles team of Andrew Spirrison and Daniel Verde won the Fishers doubles regional on Saturday.
Spirrison and Verde came from behind to beat Plainfield’s Cade East and Cam Chafin 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the semi-finals, then sailed past Richmond’s Cliff Hazelbaker and Joey Chimenti 6-4, 6-0 in the championship match. The Royals team is 22-7 and will at next weekend’s state doubles tournament at Park Tudor.
In the singles event, Fishers’ Reese Knoderer lost in the semi-finals to Brownsburg’s Petar Petrovic 1-6, 6-0, 6-3. Knoderer, a freshman, finished his season 22-5.
The state singles and doubles tournament begins Friday with first round and quarter-final matches, then the semi-finals and championships are played on Saturday.
The Carmel boys tennis team won its fourth consecutive state championship Saturday at North Central’s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center. The Greyhounds beat the Panthers 3-2, finishing their season 24-0. (Richie Hall)