The boys’ tennis continues to grow, not just in physical ability but in mental toughness and grit.

Wednesday’s match presented a difficult challenge for several reasons:

> The Eagles were up against 14th-ranked Fort Wayne Carroll, a team Delta had narrowly beaten 3-2 on Sept. 6 with the help of two third-set tiebreak wins.  With an experienced lineup of one senior and six juniors, it seemed likely that Carroll would be primed for revenge in the rematch.

> Also, Delta’s players were outside their normal routine on Wednesday.  Seniors, juniors and sophomores had been on a day-long field trip at various universities and freshmen had listened to nine presentations from guest speakers in what amounted to a very long day at Delta.

> Toss in unusually hot fall temperatures near 90 degrees and an hour road trip to Norwell High School and it seemed like the stage might be set for a flat performance from the Eagles.

But the 13th-ranked Eagles (11-2) continue to answer the bell every match.  They jumped out to big leads on most every court and rolled to a convincing 4-1 victory over Carroll (13-4).

First off the court was the No. 1 doubles team of senior Aaron Elliott and junior Tyce Dishman.  They put together the best match of their career by winning the first 11 games en route to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over a team that beat us 3-6, 3-6 in the Carroll Invitational 10 days ago.  Carroll also had battled second-ranked Homestead at that position before losing 7-5 in the third set earlier this week.

Next to finish was the No. 2 doubles team of senior Brady Williams and freshman Brandon Grubbs.  They clicked well together and used their aggressive style to win 6-4, 6-3 over a strong No. 2 doubles team from Carroll.

Sophomore Luke Atkinson then clinched the team victory by finishing off his opponent at No. 3 singles, 7-5, 6-2.  Luke lost to the same player a year ago on the same court at Norwell, but now he has beaten him twice this year by a combined score of 25-9.

At No. 2 singles, freshman Charlie Vannatter made it 4-0 for the Eagles when he wrapped up a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Carroll junior Tim Croft.  Charlie, who beat Croft in a third-set tiebreak in the earlier match against Carroll, continues to grow in his poise and his ability to close out victories.

Jackson Darby also did many things well against Carroll senior Andrew Jamison at No.1 singles.  The Delta freshman led 4-3 in the first set and 3-2 in the second set, but Jamison pulled out the match, 4-6, 4-6.

The junior varsity gained a 7-3 victory over Carroll in large part due to sweeping all six doubles matches.

The highlight in singles was sophomore Andrew Alexander, who rallied from an 0-4 hole to win 8-5.

Doubles winners were Ben Miller/Bryce Carmichael, Kaden Crist/John Atkinson, Ayden Mitchell/Kiptyn Schwartz, Jacob Tokar/Grant Durkovich, Maddox Weddle/Denys Krushenytskyi, and Hayden Case/Reid Cardemon.

The Eagles return to action with another challenging match today (Thursday).  Delta travels to Kokomo to play the 26th-ranked Wildkats in the championship match of the rain-delayed Kokomo Invitational. Start time will be 5:15 p.m.

Compete Results

DELTA 4, FORT WAYNE CARROLL 1

Varsity Singles

1. Jackson Darby lost 4-6, 4-6
2. Cgarlie Vannatter won 6-3, 6-3
3. Luke Atkinson won 7-5, 6-2

Varsity Doubles

1. Aaron Elliott/Tyce Dishman won 6-0, 6-2
2. Brady Williams/Brandon Grubbs won 6-4, 6-3

JV
Delta 7, FW Carroll 3

JV Singles

1. Colten Cruea lost 5-8
2. Roman Ashcraft lost 5-8
3. Andrew Alexander won 8-5
4. Drew Durkovich lost 2-8

JV Doubles

1. Ben Miller/Bryce Carmichael won 8-5
2. Kaden Crist/John Atkinson won 8-5
3. Ayden Mitchell/Kiptyn Schwartz won 8-5
4. Jacob Tokar/Grant Durkovich won 8-5
5. Maddox Weddle/Denys Krushenytskyi won 8-0
6. Reid Cardemon/Hayden Case won 8-0