An experienced and talented Mt. Vernon team proved to be too strong as the Marauders handed the Eagles a 4-1 loss on Senior Night at the Delta courts on Monday evening.
Delta’s highlight came at No. 1 doubles, where seniors Dalton Royal and Preston Shanayda cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. They finished the regular season with a strong 19-3 record.
22nd-ranked Mt. Vernon dominated the rest of the varsity positions and gained their first-ever Hoosier Heritage Conference championship in boys’ tennis with a perfect 7-0 record. 30th-ranked Greenfield-Central was second at 6-1, followed by Delta at 5-2, New Palestine at 4-3, Shelbyville at 3-4, Pendleton Heights at 2-5, Yorktown at 1-6, and New Castle at 0-7.
Mt. Vernon also won the JV match, 11-2. Winners for Delta were Ben Miller at No. 3 singles by an 8-5 score and Jacob Williams/Alexander Smith at No. 3 doubles by an 8-3 score.
Nine seniors were honored in a nice ceremony before the match. The celebration included Mancino’s pizza and Charmed Cupcakes.
All nine seniors got to play on the main courts (numbers 1-5) and gave great efforts against the Marauders.
The varsity finishes the regular season with a 14-5 record. Twenty-three of the team’s 30 players competed in at least 15 matches this season and gained some great experience against many strong opponents. Thirteen of those players won at least one varsity match. With a nice eighth-grade class finishing their middle school season, also, the Eagles will continue to be strong in the coming years.
The Eagles will host Muncie Burris in the opening round of the Delta Sectional at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday. Muncie Central and Yorktown then play at 4:45 p.m. Thursday, with the winners meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday for the championship. A rainy forecast could alter those days/times, so stay tuned for updates.
The Eagles will be aiming to extend their incredible streak to 31 consecutive sectional titles.
Final regular-season records for individual players:
Varsity
(13 different players won at least one varsity match!)
Simon Marlow (senior) 4-17
Kody Vest (junior) 16-5
Jake Bilby (senior) 8-10
Owen Cupp (junior) 4-6
Caleb Hewitt (senior) 1-3
Ben Miller (sophomore) 1-0
Dalton Royal (senior) 19-3
Preston Shanayda (senior) 18-3
Aaron Elliott (sophomore) 11-5
Tyce Dishman (freshman) 10-3
Kam Swoboda (junior) 4-1
Will Kile (senior) 1-0
Brady Williams (sophomore) 1-0
Junior Varsity
(20 different boys played at least 15 JV matches!)
16 wins
Brady Williams (sophomore) 16-8
Ben Miller (sophomore) 16-8
James Root (junior) 16-8
15 wins
Jacob Williams (sophomore) 15-7
14 wins
Caleb Hewitt (senior) 14-4
Kam Swoboda (junior) 14-6
Kaden Crist (sophomore) 14-7
13 wins
Will Kile (senior) 13-7
Colten Cruea (freshman) 13-12
12 wins
Alexander Smith (sophomore) 12-5
10 wins
Daniel Tokar (sophomore) 10-11
Owen Cupp (junior) 9-6
Hanson Heintzelman (senior) 9-11
Brandon Wagner (sophomore) 9-13
Maddox Weddle (freshman) 9-14
Jason Ogle (freshman) 9-15
Tyce Dishman (freshman) 8-1
Charlie Knapp (freshman) 7-11
Ayden Mitchell (sophomore) 6-2
Justus Subler (senior) 6-11
Caden Moss (freshman) 6-16
Denys Krushenytskyi (freshman) 4-3
Grant Durkovich (freshman) 4-16
Aaron Elliott (sophomore) 2-0
Jake Bilby (senior) 1-0
James Engle (senior) 1-6
John Atkinson (sophomore) — missed season due to injury