The Eagles continued on their upward path of improvement by sweeping rival Yorktown 5-0 in a varsity match Tuesday evening in front of a large crowd at the DHS courts.
This is Delta’s seventh victory in eight total matches over the past 10 days.
Yorktown entered with a 10-2 record, but Delta continued its long dominance in the county rivalry. The Eagles have won 58 of the last 59 matches against the Tigers dating back more than 30 years.
Delta improved to 9-7 overall and 4-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. In another key HHC result last night, Shelbyville edged Greenfield-Central 3-2. As a result, Delta and Mt. Vernon are the co-leaders of the league with one loss apiece, setting up a possible showdown for the outright championship when the Eagles and Marauders play on Sept. 26.
Current HHC standings
Delta 4-1
Mt Vernon 3-1
Shelbyville 4-2
Greenfield 3-2
Yorktown 3-3
New Castle 1-2
New Palestine 1-4
Pendleton 0-3
In the Yorktown match, the highlight came at No. 1 doubles, where Riley Bratton and Colin McCrady rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Ethan Darby and Rafa Sabijon in a match that featured four seniors. Darby and Sabijon came in unbeaten for the season, but Bratton and McCrady also have been on a hot streak lately. Bratton has won eight straight matches at No. 1 doubles, while McCrady has six straight wins.
The Eagles dominated the rest of the positions. Junior Dalton Royal won 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles for his fourth straight win at the top spot. Senior Owen Vest won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, while his sophomore brother Kody Vest won 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
At No. 2 doubles, senior Isaac Anderson and junior Preston Shanayda prevailed 6-2, 6-3. It was the eighth win in a row for Anderson and the seventh win in eight matches for Shanayda.
In the JV match., the Eagles topped the Tigers 11-2. In eight doubles matches, the Eagles allowed only six games total. Winners were Jake Bilby/Ben Miller, Aaron Elliott/Brady Williams, John Atkinson/Will Kile, Kam Swoboda/James Root, Jacob Williams/Ayden Mitchell, Heath Sprague/Hanson Heintzelman, Matteo Caddedu/Alex Smith, and James Engle/Ayden Mitchell. In singles, Simon Marlow won at No. 1 singles, Caleb Hewitt shut out his opponent at No. 2 singles, and Owen Cupp gained another win at No. 3 singles.
As part of the festivities last night, the two teams and their fan bases donated packages of toilet paper to The Community Basket, a local pantry for families in need in our community. The teams combined to donate more than 750 rolls of toilet paper. Thank you to all who contributed!
Next up for Delta is the Peru JV Invitational at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Teams include Delta, Peru, Culver Academies and Huntington North.
The varsity returns to action on Sept. 20 vs. state-ranked Fort Wayne Carroll at the Norwell HS courts.