After a two-hour rain delay, the Delta Invitational took place on Saturday, with the Eagles eventually winning the championship.
Delta shut out Richmond 5-0 in the opening round.
The Eagles then topped Muncie Burris 4-1 in the semifinals.
In the championship round, Delta defeated Lake Central 3-2 for the title. Lake Central is the state’s seventh-largest school with more than 3,300 students.
Senior Eli Arnold went 3-0 on the day at No. 3 singles. He dropped only four games on the day and is now 15-5 for the season.
The Eagles also were dominate at No. 1 doubles. Senior Walker Boyle and sophomore Dalton Royal cruised to three straights wins, yielding only three games total. Boyle is 18-2 and Royal is 19-2 this fall.
Delta swept the No. 2 doubles matches also. Junior Riley Bratton and senior Landon Freiburger won 6-1, 6-3 over Richmond; Freiburger and senior Mason Wrisley won 6-1, 6-0 over Burris; and Wrisley and Bratton won 6-1, 6-1 over Lake Central.
Junior Owen Vest picked up a strong 6-4, 6-2 victory over Richmond in the opening round at No. 1 doubles. He followed that with a long 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory over Burris in the semifinals. He then ran into an outstanding No. 2 singles player in round three and fell 0-6, 6-0.
Senior Adam Altobella began his day with a big 6-1, 6-1 victory over Richmond’s Jaden Hollingsworth. His next two matches came against potential All-State players. He fell 1-6, 0-6 to Charlie Behrman of Burris and lost 2-6, 1-6 to David Spriggs of Lake Central.
Delta, ranked 30th, owns a 13-5 record, including 6-0 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. The Eagles will host Mt. Vernon (4-2 in HHC) on Monday night in the final regular season match.
It will be Senior Night for Delta. The Eagles will honor 11 seniors: Adam Altobella, Walker Boyle, Eli Arnold, Mason Wrisley, Landon Freiburger, Aidan Landis, Brad Shue, Ross Meacham, Logan Anderson, Cooper Roach and Javin Kile.
Saturday’s three tournament victories raised head coach Tim Cleland’s career varsity victory total to 1,100 wins. This is the highest total for a tennis coach in state history. Cleland, in his 58th season of coaching boys and girls tennis at Delta, owns a career record of 1,100 wins, 190 losses.