For the second straight season, Delta scored 16 points in the tough Jeffersonville Invitational.
The Eagles finished in sixth place among the eight teams. Jasper won the title with 39 points, followed by Zionsville (32), Elkhart (30) and Columbus North (26). Bloomington North then took fifth place by just one point over Delta, even though the Eagles finished better than Bloomington North in four of the five position flights. Jeffersonville and New Albany then tied for seventh place with 10 points each
All 27 healthy Eagles at the tournament played multiple matches during the weekend at the three sites: Jeffersonville HS, New Albany HS, and Charlestown HS.
Two potential varsity players — sophomore Tyce Dishman (hand injury) and junior Ben Miller (wedding) — were unable to play. Only two of Delta’s top seven players this weekend entered with at least one full season of varsity experience, so the invitational was definitely an eye-opening experience for most of the Eagles.
The top finisher for Delta was freshman Luke Atkinson, who went 2-1 at No. 3 singles and placed fourth. Both doubles teams of Aaron Elliott/Brady Williams and Kam Swoboda/Kaden Crist took fifth place with 1-2 records. Kody Vest was in sixth at No. 1 singles with a 1-2 record. Owen Cupp placed eighth at No. 2 singles at 0-3.
In the JV tournament, Delta finished fourth among the eight teams with 21 points. Alexander Smith and Graham Sieber were runner-up at No. 2 doubles with a 2-1 record. They lost 5-8 to Jasper in the finals. Colten Cruea, Ayden Mitchell and James Root each won one singles match, and Bryce Carmichael/John Atkinson and Jacob Williams/Daniel Tokar each won a doubles match. Roman Ashcraft went 3-0 in extra singles matches and did not lose a game.
At the third site at Charlestown HS, assistant coach Tannon Dishman was able to get multiple matches for all 10 of our extra players. Jason Ogle won all three of his matches. Overall, the extra boys won 14 matches and lost seven.
In addition to the tennis, the players and family members enjoyed a large cornhole tournament and pizza party on Saturday night at the Mark Reilly Tennis Complex at Jeffersonville HS. James Root and Graham Sieber were the cornhole champs out of 32 blind-draw teams. They beat Brady Williams/Josh Weddle in the finals. The teams of Tim Root/Damien Mitchell and Kody Vest/Sandy Manor were the top finishers in the backdraw. Sandy Manor gets a special mention for doing so well after being discharged from the hospital on Friday!
Most of the Delta Tennis group walked the pedestrian bridge over the Ohio River on Saturday night. Fun times were also had at the Hampton Inn — a last-second replacement for the Radisson (but that’s a story for another time!)
Thanks to everyone who made the trip. We became closer as a team and competed well throughout the weekend.
Next up for the Eagles is a conference match at New Palestine at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
VARSITY
Singles
- Kody Vest — 1-2 sixth place
- Owen Cupp — 0-3 eighth place
- Luke Atkinson — 2-1 fourth place
Doubles
- Brady Williams / Aaron Elliott 1-2 fifth place
- Kam Swoboda / Kden Crist 1-2 fifth place
JUNIOR VARSITY
Singles
- Colten Cruea — 1-2 sixth place
- Ayden Mitchell — 1-2 sixth place
- James Root — 1-1
Roman Ashcraft 1-0 (plus 2-0 in extra matches)
Doubles
- Bryce Carmichael / John Atkinson 1-1
Jacob Williams / Daniel Tokar 0-1 (plus 1-0 in extra match) - Alexander Smith / Graham Sieber 2-1 runner-up
EXTRA JV
- Jason Ogle 3-0
- Owen Zacek 3-1
- Grant Durkovich 2-1
- Jensen Moody 2-1
- Kiptyn Berry 2-1
- Reid Cardemon 2-1
- Maddox Weddle 2-1
- Denys Krushenytskyii 1-2
- Rylan Oliver 1-3
- Andrew Alexander 0-4 (all strong opponents)