Tenth-ranked Homestead simply had too much firepower for Delta, resulting in a 4-1 victory for the Spartans in the Homestead Semi-State on Saturday.
The lone victory for the Eagles came at No. 2 doubles, where senior Isaac Anderson and junior Preston Shanayda gained a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
In the other four matches, Homestead yielded only a total of four games.
Delta finished its season with an 18-9 record. The Eagles won four championships: the Delta Invitational, the Hoosier Heritage Conference, the Delta Sectional for the 30th straight season, and the Marion Regional for the 25th time in the past 28 years. They also regained the HHC traveling trophy racket after losing possession of it early in the season. They finished ranked No. 30 in the state in the season-ending poll.
Most of the Eagles’ losses were to state-ranked opponents:
> Lost to #3 Zionsville (still alive in State Finals)
> Lost to #4 Columbus North (still alive in State Finals)
> Lost to #10 Homestead (still alive in State Finals)
> Lost to #13 FW Carroll
> Lost to #14 Cathedral
> Lost to #16 Jasper
> Lost to #21 Culver Academies (still alive in State Finals)
> Lost to #29 West Lafayette
> Lost to unranked Greenfield-Central
Among the team’s top wins:
> The Eagles defeated #30 Mt. Vernon (sectional champs)
> The Eagles defeated Peru (sectional champs and won a match at regional)
> The Eagles defeated New Castle (sectional and regional champs and won 22 matches)
> The Eagles defeated Madison-Grant (sectional champs, won a match at regional, and won 21 matches)
> The Eagles defeated Shelbyville (sectional champs and won a match at regional)
Delta graduates five seniors, four of whom played varsity. Those players include No. 2 singles player Owen Vest, No. 1 doubles players Riley Bratton and Colin McCrady, and No. 2 doubles player Isaac Anderson. In addition, JV player Heath Sprague will graduate and JV foreign exchange student Matteo Caddedu will not return.
The team returns 22 players from this year’s roster. including four varsity players: No. 1 singles junior Dalton Royal, No. 3 singles sophomore Kody Vest, and No. 2 doubles juniors Preston Shanayda and Jake Bilby.
The JV team finished with a record of 17-5, including 7-0 vs. conference opponents.
Here are the final records for the season:
Varsity
No. 1 singles — Dalton Royal (junior) 12-8 at No. 1 singles and 2-4 at No. 1 doubles …. total of 14-12 … 45 career varsity wins so far
No. 2 singles — Owen Vest (senior) 15-4 at No. 2 singles and 0-6 at No. 1 singles …. total of 15-10 … 29 career varsity wins
No.. 3 singles — Kody Vest (sophomore) 14-11 at No. 3 singles and 0-1 at No. 1 singles … total of 14-12
No. 1 doubles — Riley Bratton (senior) 20-7 at No. 1 doubles … 27 career varsity wins
No. 1 doubles — Colin McCrady (senior) 15-3 at No. 1 doubles and 0-6 at No. 2 singles and 1-0 at No. 3 singles … total of 16-9
No. 2 doubles — Isaac Anderson (senior) 18-7 at No. 2 doubles
No. 2 doubles — Preston Shanayda (junior) 12-6 at No. 2 doubles and 3-0 at No. 1 doubles … total of 15-6
No. 2 doubles — Jake Bilby (junior) 8-4 at No. 2 doubles (all four losses in third-set tiebreakers)
Singles — Simon Marlow (junior) 0-1 at No. 2 singles and 0-1 at No. 4 singles … total of 0-2
Singles/Doubles — Caleb Hewitt (junior) 0-1 at No. 3 singles and 0-1 at No. 3 doubles … total of 0-2
Doubles — Heath Sprague (senior) 0-1 at No. 3 doubles
Junior Varsity
Singles — Simon Marlow (junior) 11-9
Singles — Caleb Hewitt (junior) 14-9
Singles — Owen Cupp (sophomore) 19-5
Singles/Doubles — Ben Miller (freshman) 14-11
Doiubles — Jake Bilby (junior) 4-6
Doubles — Aaron Elliott (freshman) 15-9
Doubles — Brady Williams (freshman) 13-7
Doubles — John Atkinson (freshman) 15-5
Doubles — Will Kile (junior) 13-5
Doubles — Kam Swoboda (sophomore) 15-6
Doubles — James Root (sophomore) 15-7
Doubles — Kaden Crist (freshman) 14-5
Doubles — Ayden Mitchell (freshman) 9-11
Doubles — Heath Sprague (senior) 5-7
Doubles — Jacob Williams (freshman) 8-15
Doubles — Alex Smith (freshman) 7-6
Doubles — Hanson Heintzelman (junior) 8-4
Doubles — James Engle (junior) 3-5
Doubles — Matteo Caddedu (exchange student) 8-4
Singles/Doubles — Justus Subler (junior) 2-11
Singles/Doubles — Daniel Tokar (freshman) 3-1
Homestead Semi-State Results
Varsity Singles
- Dalton Royal lost to Stephen Meier (H), 0-6, 1-6
- Owen Vest lost to Ben Garrean (H), 2-6, 1-6
- Kody Vest lost to Eric Ji (H), 0-6, 6-0
Varsity Doubles
- Riley Bratton / Colin McCrady lost to Graber/Holliday (H), 0-6, 0-6
- Isaac Anderson / Preston Shanayda def. Otten/Cowan (H), 6-2, 6-3
Matchups for IHSAA Team State Finals
Friday, Oct. 14 noon at Carmel HS
#1 Harrison vs. #4 Columbus North
#10 Homestead vs. #21 Culver Academies
Friday, Oct. 14 noon at Center Grove HS
#3 Zionsville vs. #8 Indianapolis North Central
#7 Center Grove vs. #15 Floyd Central