LAFAYETTE ― The parry and riposte of West Lafayette senior Jasper Xiang ensued with his friend, Harrison freshman Zan Young, on Thursday during the IHSAA boys tennis sectional final.
Xiang and Young have played as opponents and as hitting partners since Young moved to West Lafayette two years ago after his father, Geoff, became the Purdue men’s tennis coach.
A large crowd swarmed around Young and Xiang, with all eyes on the two players that would determine this year’s sectional winner.
“Zan’s a really good player and we’ve practiced all year round since he moved here,” Xiang said. “He’s a really nice guy and he pushed me really hard today.”
Xiang focused on striking clean, consistent forehands and Young tried using his quickness to shorten the court and force mistakes.
On this day, though, Xiang was unshakeable. He kept his forehands and rallies simple, never veering too far from center court. He toppled Young, 6-2, 6-2, as West Lafayette advanced with a 3-2 team victory.
“I think it comes from playing a lot of matches and tournaments,” Xiang said. “I’ve had my fair share of meltdowns and where I lost because my head was out of it. So I knew if I didn’t keep my composure, I’d just self destruct and lose the match.”
West Lafayette secure its second straight sectional championship, making it 31 for the Red Devils since 1988.
West Lafayette doubles teams Gavin Ruan and Yoonsung Kee won, 6-1, 6-3, and Jonathan Hong and Anthony Son won, 6-4, 6-1.
More: Harrison repeats as girls tennis IHSAA Sectional champions
Harrison won the two other singles matches, thanks to Emerson Mohr and Henry Graham.
Ruan and Kee have chemistry on and off the court that has spanned a decade. The two became close friends at Jump Start Preschool and they began playing tennis at eight years old.
“Ever since the seventh grade we’ve had a lot of classes together so we were able to build a really strong bond with one another,” Ruan said. “And that translates really well onto the tennis court because our play styles complement each other really well. Yoonsung is able to get a lot of really powerful strokes especially on the serve and he has a really good volley. And I’m more solid from the baseline so I’m able to set him up really well especially when we are playing doubles.”
The win for West Lafayette avenged a loss when the programs faced off on Aug. 22. That day, Xiang and Young played a three-hour match that was won by Young after Xiang battled cramps.
This time the result was different on a calm, breezy Thursday afternoon as Xiang faced Young, who had been battling a lingering foot injury throughout the fall.
“Even though the score didn’t seem like a really close match, every score was going to a deuce,” Xiang said. “And I really had to battle and push myself to win this match.”
Central Catholic captures first ever boys tennis sectional
Some tinkering had to be done for Central Catholic in the final two weeks before sectionals after an injury forced doubles player Colton Minnick out for the rest of the season.
And somehow with two faces in different spots, the Knights pulled together at the right moment.
Junior Alex Schummer and senior Trevor Powers rolled as double partners, winning 6-0, 6-2, as the Knights won their first-ever boys tennis sectional, 3-2 over McCutcheon.
Evan McLaughlin (6-1, 6-0) and Jonah Gerkey (6-1, 6-3) each won singles matches.
“Surprising we’ve never really won a sectional title and every year we put our goals on a sheet of paper,” Powers said. “This year it happened, I love these guys really bonded with this year.”
Powers and Schummer discussed the legacy of adding to the school’s athletic success, with state titles in baseball, football, girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball and girls soccer.
“To be able to carry on that sectional title tradition means a lot to me,” Schummer said. “Carrying on that legacy of winning and contributing to the school.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHansonand Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: IHSAA boys tennis: West Lafayette, Central Catholic win sectional titles
