Oct. 3—ELWOOD — Coming off its second consecutive sectional championship, the Frankton boys tennis team knew it had work to do after losing its top two players to graduation. No one really knew what to expect this year after those players moved on.
The next group of seniors simply took the reins and guided the program back to the promised land.
After Frankton quickly swept the doubles matches, seniors Jackson Alexander and Jon Hobbs closed out their singles matches and the Eagles held off a much younger Alexandria squad 4-1 to claim the program’s third straight sectional championship.
After having to completely retool his lineup this season, Frankton coach Mark Hartley was effusive in his praise of his team.
“I thought it was going to be tough after losing our top two players, but those three guys behind them stepped up big time,” he said. “They worked really hard in the winter and into the spring.”
The Eagles will face the host Millers on Tuesday in Noblesville in the regional semifinal.
“It’s probably easier said than done, but I want them to go in there loose and enjoy it,” Hartley said. “At this point, everything else is gravy. We made a little more Frankton history. This is kind of our Super Bowl.”
Also advancing to Noblesville is Alexandria junior Owen May, who bested Aaron Hartley 6-4, 7-5 in the No. 1 singles match and moved on in the singles tournament.
Alexander, who played the No. 3 singles position Thursday, did not envision this level of individual success this season.
But he knew he and his fellow seniors — Hobbs, Aaron Hartley and Ja’Von Miller — were committed to keeping the sectional streak alive.
“It’s been awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Alexander said. “This whole year has been great. We’ve been stressing to win this sectional — three in a row — all year, and I’m so glad we did it.”
Hobbs added the success is extra sweet because of the friendship between the four seniors.
“Obviously, making history for our school is a big thing,” Hobbs said. “It’s nice that we’ve been able to win three in a row, especially with the group that we have.”
Although Alexandria battled early, it did not take long for Frankton to seize the overall momentum and run with it.
Miller and Eli Birch put the first point of the match in Frankton’s column with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Cale Johns and Brody Sullivan and, just moments later, Jack Harrison and Braxton Mort defeated Peton Hill and Brody Phelps 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 2 singles match.
With no seniors on the roster, the younger Tigers fell victim to Frankton’s experience.
“That’s one thing. I felt we brought our A-game,” Alex coach Matt DeVault said. “We’re young. We’re starting some young kids, but I’m really pleased with the way we came out. I thought we battled them well.”
One source of pride for DeVault was the play of freshman Blake Jones in a losing cause against Alexander.
Jones kept numerous points alive when it appeared Alexander had the upper hand, even leading during the first set. But Alexander, who has won all 21 matches he has played this season without dropping a set, battled back to take a 7-5, 6-3 decision to earn the clinching point for his team.
“I’m confident in my ability, but I just went match by match,” Alexander said.
“Blake Jones at three singles really took a very good, undefeated singles player to the limit a little bit,” DeVault said. “He had him on his heels.”
Almost immediately after, Hobbs closed out his 6-2, 6-4 win over Austin Webb at No. 2 singles for a 4-0 advantage.
That left just the No. 1 singles match ongoing between May and Aaron Hartley, and it was as close as they come. But May rallied from down 5-4 in the second set, avoiding a third set in the process and moving on to Noblesville against an opponent to be determined.
“Owen has really embraced that No. 1 singles spot after playing two singles last year,” DeVault said. “He’s had a number of wins against players who were better than him last year, but Owen is a fighter.”
In other sectional action, Lapel lost to the host Millers in the Noblesville sectional championship 5-0 while Madison-Grant suffered a heartbreaking semifinal loss to Mississinewa 3-2 on the Argylls’ home court.
Shenandoah advanced to the New Castle sectional final with a 4-1 win over Blue River Valley on Thursday. The Raiders will face the host Trojans for the title and a berth in Tuesday’s Mount Vernon regional Friday afternoon at 5 p.m.
Contact Rob Hunt at
rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com
or 765-640-4886.
