Indianapolis North Central High School
Friday pairings (All matches at 2pm):
No. 8 Bloomington South (16-0) vs. No. 11 Zionsville (17-3)
No. 10 Munster (19-0) vs. No. 13 Homestead (17-2)
No. 28 Castle (21-1) vs. No. 9 Center Grove (17-4)
No. 22 Concord (19-1) vs. No. 3 Indianapolis Park Tudor (17-2)
Saturday pairings:
Semifinals at 10am:
Bloomington South-Zionsville winner vs. Munster-Homestead winner
Castle-Center Grove winner vs. Concord-Park Tudor winner
Championship match at 2pm
This year’s Boys Tennis State Finals may be among the most competitive ever. This is the first year that the IHSAA has allowed eight teams to reach the State Finals round instead of four, setting up the quarterfinals for Friday afternoon. Among the eight schools involved, two schools have already won championships. Park Tudor has six championships to its credit, while Center Grove has two, including last year’s title. Homestead is also in an interesting position. The Spartans have been a state runner-up nine times, but has never been able to break through for a title. Zionsville also returns as last year’s runner-up to Center Grove.
As far as State Finals appearances, Homestead has been to Indianapolis 17 times overall, but has yet to win a title. Munster is in a similar position with 11 Finals appearances, but the Mustangs have only won a State Finals match in 1977, finishing as runner-up that year. On the other side of the coin, Park Tudor is undefeated all-time in the State Finals, winning six titles in six appearances.
In the first quarterfinal Bloomington South takes on Zionsville. Bloomington South is undefeated on the season, and that includes a 3-2 win over defending state champ Center Grove. Zionsville dropped tough matches to Carmel, Cathedral, and Hamilton Southeastern, but has rolled through the tournament by dropping just two points. The Eagles will look to build on their experience, as single players J.P. Dwyer and Connor Dunn are seniors who have been here before. The same is true with doubles players Joe Hammons, Nick Laconi, and Max Watson. Bloomington South will counter with a pair of impressive freshmen. Ronnie Schneider carries a 21-3 record for the Panthers at #1 singles, while fellow freshman Matt Helm is 11-1 with doubles partner Donovan Thomas.
In the second quarterfinal, undefeated Munster will try to break its long State Finals hex. The Mustangs will face another perennially snakebitten team in Homestead. The schools have 28 State Finals appearances between them, but neither has won a championship. In what is often a preview of the State Finals, Munster and Homestead finished 7th and 8th at the prestigious North Central Invitational earlier in the year. Homestead has also struggled more recently, winning 3-2 in the regional final over Angola and 3-2 in its semi-state match over Western (a first time sectional and regional winner this year). The number one doubles combo of Brad White and Jordan Mauk have a solid 21-4 record for the Spartans, while Connor Andrews is 20-5 at #1 singles. Both Jack Heiniger and Ryan Heuer are 20-3 for Bloomington South at the #2 and #3 singles positions, meaning this match could come down to the #2 doubles slot.
The third semifinal could be interesting, as it is a matter of youth versus experience. Castle has never been to the State Finals before, while Center Grove is the defending State Champion. Center Grove hasn’t been as strong this season, losing a match to Bloomington South and to usual powers Brebeuf, Carmel, and North Central. The best matchup between these two teams is at #2 singles. David Butterfield is 26-1 for Castle, while freshman Luke Anderson is 24-3 at that spot. Castle might have an edge at #1 doubles, as the tandem of Sajeev Chilukuri and Robert Cook are 25-0. Austin Marx and Adam Janeira are also 22-3 at the other doubles slot, while Center Grove’s #2 doubles tandem of Matt Canner and Austin Ruddell have played just two matches together.
Finally the fourth quarterfinal is much like the Center Grove-Castle match in that Park Tudor is the perennial power, while Concord has never been this far before. The Panthers would love to avenge their season opening 3-2 loss to Center Grove in the semi-finals, but they must get through the Minutemen first. Concord’s only loss on the season came against Penn, but the Minutemen turned the tables on the Kingsmen in the semi-state round to get here. Sophomore Jason Denton is 26-0 for Concord at the #3 singles position, but Park Tudor’s Kishan Shah is 23-2 at the same spot. This should be a very close match, but six of the seven Concord players are seniors. Both Concord doubles positions are a combined 45-5 on the year, while Park Tudor is 38-10.
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