Preston and Dalton show off their runner-up trophies at varsity 1 doubles.

Some of our burger “kings” enjoy their Friday evening meal after tennis.

The annual Jeffersonville Invitational once again proved to be a successful trip on and off the court.

The Eagles were back at Jeffersonville for the first time since 2019.  The 8-team tournament was an annual staple for the team for about 20 years before the Covid pandemic altered those plans.

This year’s event returned to the brand-new $3 million Mark Reilly Tennis Center (12 courts) as well as the courts at New Albany HS (10 courts) and Charlestown HS (8 courts).

Among the weekend highlights:

> The varsity placed fifth.  Final scores were Columbus North 37, Zionsville 37, Jasper 34, Bloomington North 26, Delta 16, New Albany 12, Jeffersonville 10 and Franklin Central 10.

> Seniors Dalton Royal and Preston Shanayda placed runner-up at No. 1 doubles with a 2-1 record. They lost only to the All-State First Team returning duo of Antrim and Kar from Columbus North.

> Senior Simon Marlow won a 3-hour, 10-minute match at No. 1 singles over Jeffersonville,  5-7, 6-4, 7-5.

> Every varsity player won at least one round.

> The JV team placed fourth. Final scores were Zionsville 43, Jasper 34, Bloomington North 25, Delta 23, Columbus North 23, Franklin Central 15, New Albany 10 and Jeffersonville 7.

> Finishing runner-up in their flight were the JV doubles teams of Will Kile/Kam Swoboda and Tyce Dishman/Brady Williams.  They each won their first two rounds before falling to Zionsville in the finals.  Placing third was No. 2 singles player Ben Miller, including a big win over Columbus North.  Caleb Hewitt gained a win at No. 1 singles.

> All 29 players competed in at least three matches during the weekend.  Jacob Williams, Kaden Crist and Colten Cruea went unbeaten.

Off the court, we enjoyed a big cornhole tournament and pizza party on Saturday night at the Jeffersonville tennis shelterhouse.  There were 40 blind-draw teams, with Nate Vest/Sandy Manor taking first place and Kody Vest/Dustin Shafer finishing second.

Nate Vest and his mother-in-law, Sandy Manor, were the cornhole champions.

Afterward, most of the group walked across the pedestrian bridge from Indiana to Kentucky across the Ohio River.  The night scene was even more awesome when we lucked into seeing the fireworks show from the Louisville pro soccer team’s stadium.

Several team members pose during the bridge walk over the Ohio River.

Next up is a Hoosier Heritage Conference match against New Palestine at 5:00 pm Monday.