The Eagles won 16 of 17 matches Tuesday night in a road victory at New Castle, but it wasn’t always as easy as it sounds.

In the varsity match, Delta won 4-1 with two come-from-behind victories over the Trojans, who entered the match with a 10-2 record.

The highlight came at No. 3 singles, where senior Jake Bilby faced New Castle senior Jacob Jenkins, who has played much of the season at No. 1 singles. Bilby lost the first set 3-6 and faced five match points in the second set.  But he kept coming up with some amazing plays to save the match points.  Eventually, Bilby won in a third-set tiebreaker, 3-6, 7-6 (8), (10-2).

The Eagles also made a comeback at No. 2 doubles. Sophomore Brady Williams and freshman Tyce Dishman trailed 0-3 in the opening set but plugged away and gained a 7-5, 6-4 victory over New Castle’s Austin Nunez and Cameron Hastings.  It was the first career varsity victory for Williams.

Delta also picked up points at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.  In singles, Kody Vest’s expected opponent, Vincent Farris, was sick and the Trojans had to sub into that spot.  Vest won 6-0, 6-0.  In doubles, seniors Preston Shanayda and Dalton Royal showed their experience in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over a solid New Castle team of Caden Blackford and Matt Hastings.

New Castle picked up its lone point at No. 1 singles, where Leo Underhill defeated Simon Marlow, 6-0, 6-3.

In the JV match, Delta dominated by a 12-0 score.  Seven of the matches were by 6-0 score.  The highlight came in JV singles, where freshman Denys Krushenytskyi was playing his final match before returning to his hone country of Ukraine. Denys trailed 2-5 and faced three match points but kept battling and came away with a 7-5 victory.

Delta (5-3  overall, 2-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference) will play Lapel at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in a home match.  The Eagles then play in the varsity and JV Kokomo Invitational this weekend against undefeated Peru, Kokomo and West Lafayette on Saturday.. All three will be strong opponents.

Complete results 

Varsity
Singles

1. Simon Marlow (D) lost to L. Underhill (NC), 0-6, 3-6
2. Kody Vest (D) def. Broughton (NC) 6-0, 6-0
3. Jake Bilby (D) def. J. Jenkins (NC), 3-6, 7-6 (8), (10-2)

Varsity
Doubles

1. Dalton Royal/Preston Shanayda (D) def. C. Blackford / M. Hastings (NC), 6-02, 6-0
2. Tyce Dishman / Brady Williams (D) def. C. Hastings / A. Nunez (NC), 7-5, 6-4

JV Singles

1. Owen Cuoo won 6-0
2. Caleb Hewitt won 6-0
3. Ben Miller won 6-0
4. Colten Cruea won 6-3
5. Daniel Tokar won 6-4
6. Denys Krushenytskyi won 7-5

JV Doubles

1. Kam Swoboda / Aaron Elliott won 6-1
2. James Root / Kaden Crist won 6-0
3. Jacob Williams ./ Alexander Smith won 6-0
4. Jason Ogle / Hanson Heintzelman won 6-0
5. Justus Subler/Brandon Wagner won 6-0
6. Maddox Weddle/Caden Moss won 6-3