The Lewis Cass boys tennis team made history on Thursday by winning the first sectional championship in program history.
The Kings defeated sectional nemesis Logansport 3-2 and were finally able to celebrate a sectional championship win after years of close calls.
The Kings (16-5) swept the doubles points and also won at No. 3 singles for their three points.
Cass seniors Bryce Rudd and Riley Johnson defeated senior Max Kitchell and sophomore Taylor Albright 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 doubles. Senior Jarin Williams and junior Harrison Clark defeated senior Scott Loman and sophomore Kaleb Loman 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 doubles.
With the match tied at 2-all, Cass sophomore Liam Ellington defeated freshman Owen Hankins 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 at No. 3 singles for the match’s deciding point.
“It’s pretty tough. It’s pretty tough,” Ellington said. “It feels pretty nice me being the deciding match.”
Ellington improved to 21-1 on the season at No. 3 singles.
“Keeping the ball play and just try hard,” he said of the keys to his record.
The Berries (6-7) won the points at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. Senior Aiden Swank defeated senior Nelson Melin 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Sophomore Blake Pearson defeated senior Nolan Hines 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.
Swank’s season will continue next week in state singles tournament play.
Pearson’s return about midway through the season gave the Berries a boost and a chance against the Kings. First-year coach Travis Nolte was hoping the Berries could come through at No. 3 singles or one of the doubles spots but it wasn’t to be.
“It was down to the wire,” Nolte said. “We didn’t see them since the beginning of the season and we had a lot of growth and we were confident going in that this would be not the outcome. But we wanted to give them everything we’ve got, and we did. We went up 2-0 with Aiden at 1 singles and Blake at 2 singles coming through. Just 3 singles with Owen battling cramps just kind of didn’t fall our way.
“He was right there. Then I think it was maybe the second game in the second set he went down with a cramp in his calf. He went out there, tried to obviously rub it out and then we got him some pickle juice and I think when the pickle juice was starting to get in his body and get in his system it was maybe just a little too late.”
It’s been a long time coming for the Kings as they’ve had many competitive teams fall just short in close matches against either Logansport or Twin Lakes in sectional play. The Kings had a team two years ago that was favored to win the Logan Sectional but they were moved to the Peru Sectional due to Maconaquah not having a team and they lost to an 18-win Peru team in the final there.
Lewis Cass coaches Matt Hurst and Stu Engle have had a number of good boys teams that just fell short. Cass has won five sectional titles in girls tennis.
Cass got a boost this year as well when former Logansport coach Adam Thompson became an assistant as he’s the EL Director for Lewis Cass schools. He was the coach of the Berries for the last 10 years and won four sectional titles during that time.
“I mean coaching is all part of it, but the guys have to go out and play,” Hurst said. “They have to execute, and they’re the ones that have to go out there with heart and make the win.
“There’s so many variables. No matter how good your team is, you also look at how good everybody else is. So there’s years where you’re good, but so is everybody else. So we’ve always been right there in the mix. We’re always there. So it feels great to finally take one.”
Cass’ No. 1 doubles team talked about the historic victory.
“I’m kind of surprised we’ve never done it before. I didn’t know that until now,” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘This is the team that wins the sectional?’ At the start of the year I was like, ‘Oh man, we’re gonna suck.’ Turns out we are sectional champions.
“You’ve just gotta play tennis. That’s all it is. Don’t overthink it. Simple. Hit the ball back and forth.”
Johnson and Rudd improved to 16-5 on the season at No. 1 doubles.
“You gotta play hard every match and it paid off,” Rudd said. “It’s good to make history always anything you do, but this is special.
“We knew we had to come out here together. We play as a team and it’s not just one person that’s gonna get it done, it’s everybody. So it’s what we do.”
Cass will compete in the Kokomo Regional on Tuesday.
