JASPER — Columbus North boys tennis coach Kendal Hammel said his team showed a lot of aggression and intensity during practice leading up to Saturday’s Jasper Semistate matchup with fourth-ranked Floyd Central.
The No. 3 Bull Dogs carried over that aggression and intensity on the courts in which the Highlanders had absolutely no answer. That helped North continue its undefeated run by defeating Floyd Central 4-1 to advance to the state finals for the second consecutive year.
The Bull Dogs (21-0) will square off against Westview in the state quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Friday at Carmel. The semifinals and final are Saturday at North Central.
“It’s awesome. It’s been one of the goals we’ve had since the start of the season,” North senior Will King said. “We knew that this team could accomplish getting to state. It’s surreal almost because state is really fun. It’s an awesome experience and really proud of everyone today.”
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King is one of five seniors along with Adam Saad, Bhavey Jain, Eamon Ma and Joey Zhao in the varsity lineup that hope to make one final push for a state title.
“Us five seniors, we all cheer for each other everyday in practice. We have such good chemistry,” Saad said. “We’re so happy for this team and what we’ve done.”
At No. 1 singles, Columbus North’s Nathan Lin made quick work of Floyd Central’s Connor Mason 6-0, 6-0.
The Bull Dogs found themselves ahead 2-0 in the match when Joey Zhao and Matthew Liu defeated Floyd Central’s Alex Poe and Eric Whitehouse 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 doubles.
North eventually clinched the semistate when Saad finished off the Highlanders’ Jacob Thompson 6-2, 6-4 at No. 3 singles. About a minute later, the Bull Dogs’ Bhavey Jain won against Floyd Central’s Gabriel Cora 7-6 (2), 6-2 at No. 2 singles.
With the team match already clinched, the No. 2 doubles match went to a third-set supertiebreaker with Floyd Central’s Joe Lincoln and Aaron Seay defeating North’s Eamon Ma and King 2-6, 7-6 (6), (11-9).
It much improved for the Bull Dogs, who escaped with a 3-2 decision against the Highlanders in the regular season.
“It was really great for Nathan to quickly win his match. That was really great, then for the fact that No. 1 doubles to win in straight sets, too. Those two spots were state tournament spots, and once they put them out right away, it was like a domino effect,” Hammel said. “I think that these guys believed they had a good shot to win this match today, and it was going to be a good team effort.”
