October 17, 2013
State Finals Preview: Boys Tennis State Finals Begin Friday
Six of the top nine teams ranked in the most recent state coaches poll lead this year’s field of eight teams in the 47th Annual IHSAA Boys Tennis State Finals.
Four quarterfinal matches will be played Friday at 3 pm ET at Carmel and Fishers high schools with the winners returning on Saturday at 10 am ET at North Central High School for a pair of semifinals and the championship match at 2 pm ET.
The top half of the bracket at Carmel calls for top-ranked and three-time defending champion Carmel (22-1) to play No. 8 Delta (24-1) and No. 2 North Central of Indianapolis (23-1) meeting No. 15 Northeastern (19-1).
Making their fourth straight visit to the state finals, the Greyhounds boast a pair of undefeated sophomore units in No. 3 singles player Michael Li (23-0) and the No. 2 doubles team of Zach Hennessey and Azad Koya (21-0).
Delta has won 19 straight matches since its only setback of the year on Sept. 7. The eighth-ranked Eagles will be making their second appearance in four seasons.
North Central is making its state-leading 24th appearance at this level of the tournament and third straight. The Panthers’ No. 1 doubles team of senior William Reifeis and junior Patrick McAuley are 22-0 this season. In contrast in both experience and enrollment, Northeastern is the smallest public school (423 students) to advance to the state finals in tournament history. It’s also the first Knights team in school history to play in the state finals in any sport. The team’s only loss of the year was a 4-1 decision to Delta on Sept. 18.
In the other half of the bracket, No. 3 Park Tudor (18-4) will take on No. 9 Jasper (18-3) for the second year in a row in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Evansville Memorial (18-0) meets No. 19 Penn (21-3).
Park Tudor defeated Jasper 4-1 in last year’s quarterfinal round and, again, are led by No. 1 singles player Danny Rayl, who remains undefeated at 25-0 after finishing as the state runner-up in last year’s singles tournament. He and the Panthers will make their fourth visit in five seasons to the state finals. Three of their four losses this season have come at the hands of local rivals Carmel and North Central.
Perennial southwest Indiana power Jasper will make the school’s third consecutive appearance in the state finals and have encountered two other finalists this year falling to both Evansville Memorial and Carmel.
Evansville Memorial is the lone unbeaten in this year’s field and has only dropped seven individual matches in dual competition this year. Twelve of their 18 wins have come by 5-0 shutouts.
Penn has qualified for the state finals for the second time in three years and will look to get back to the championship round for the first time since ending as the runner-up in both 2004 and 2005.
Also taking place this weekend at four sites around the state are the individual regionals for singles and doubles players. Pairings for those matches are listed below. Results from all the matches will be available from IHSAA.org throughout the weekend and on Twitter at @IHSAA1.
47th Annual IHSAA Boys Tennis Team State Finals
Date: Oct. 18-19, 2013.
Admission: $5 per person per day.
State Finals Bracket | Meet the Teams
Quarterfinals
Host: Carmel (Top of the Bracket)
Match 1: Northeastern (19-1) vs. North Central (Indianapolis) (23-1).
Match 2: Carmel (22-1) vs. Delta (24-1).
Host: Fishers (Bottom of Bracket)
Match 3: Park Tudor (18-4) vs. Jasper (18-3).
Match 4: Penn (21-3) vs. Evansville Memorial (18-0).
Semifinals
Host: North Central High School (Indianapolis)
Match 5: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2.
Match 6: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4.
State Championship
Host: North Central High School (Indianapolis)
Match 7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6.
Media Information
Media Host: IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille will be on site Saturday to assist you in your coverage of the event.
Media Credentials: The 2013-14 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential is required for admission. To apply, please e-mail your request (with name of individual) as soon as possible to IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org. E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted.
Programs and Results: Media in attendance should see a tournament administrator at Friday’s venues for a complimentary copy of the state finals program which includes information on each team, probable lineups and tournament history. Official results for both team and individual tournaments will be available in the tennis clubhouse following each session and also be posted to the IHSAA website.
Notables
Boys State Coaches Poll (IHSTeCA.com)
1. Carmel
2. North Central
3. Park Tudor
4. Canterbury
5. Hamilton Southeastern
6. Evansville Memorial
7. Columbus North
8. Delta
9. Jasper
10. Indianapolis Cathedral
11. Brownsburg
12. Jeffersonville
13. Center Grove
14. Terre Haute South
15. Northeastern
16. Crown Point
17. Guerin Catholic
18. Fishers
19. Penn
20. Lawrence North
21. SB St. Joseph
22. West Lafayette
23. Brebeuf
24. Zionsville
25. Marion
Teams Returning from 2012 State Finals
Carmel, North Central (Indianapolis), Jasper, Park Tudor.
Most Consecutive State Finals Appearances
6 by North Central (Indianapolis) (1974-79), Homestead (1992-97).
Active Streaks of Consecutive State Finals Team Appearances (3 or more years)
4: Carmel.
3: Jasper, North Central (Indianapolis), Park Tudor.
First Time Participants in the Field
Northeastern.
State Finals Appearance Droughts Broken
35: Evansville Memorial (1978).
Individual Regionals: Singles and Doubles
Date: Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013.
Times: Morning session at 10 am; Afternoon session at 2 pm.
Admission: Free.
Pairings
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About the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA)
Founded in 1903, the purpose of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA) is to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between its 412 member schools. The Association provides state championship tournament series in 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Approximately 160,000 student athletes participate in IHSAA sports on an annual basis.
IHSAA 13-14/11