Manchester Wins Boys Tennis Sectional
Squires to play in regional for first time since 2006
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Defeating Wabash 4-1, the Squires advanced to Tuesday’s Culver Military Academy Regional, where they’ll face the winner of Sectional 4 at Bremen.
In their previous meeting with the Wabash Apaches back on Sept. 17 in North Manchester, the Squires also won 4-1, making the team feel pretty confident going into the sectional final.
“We knew, if we played our style of tennis, that we’d have a very good chance, but we had to come out and perform,” fifth-year Manchester boys tennis coach Joel Eichenauer said. “I have a lot of respect for Wabash. Coach Dan Ford has had very successful teams over the past six to eight years. He puts out a very competitive team and we saw that here tonight. His guys stepped it up and played better than they did during the conference match.”
In the second go-round between the two Three Rivers Conference teams, Manchester dominated at No. 1 and 2 singles as well as No. 1 doubles, which was no surprise to Eichenauer.
“The guys that led us all year, led us once again tonight,” he said. “The guys with the best records are also the guys on the toughest courts.”
The first match to finish up was No. 2 singles, where Manchester sophomore Max Karg made quick work of Wabash’s Edward Dillard, 6-2, 6-0.
Leading the team score 1-0 with Karg’s win, the Squires wrapped up the team victory after sophomore Noah Cain and senior Morgan Metzger picked up a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles and junior Connor Eichenauer quickly followed with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles.
Manchester’s other point came at No. 2 doubles, where senior Dalton Day and junior Branden Scott dropped the opening set 7-5, but won the second in a 7-4 tiebreaker, then the third 6-2.
The win improved Manchester to 13-2 and continued a successful season, which included its first TRC title since 2007.
Entering the season, Eichenauer knew his team could be successful, and actually thought it could have even more success than it has.
“I knew we’d have a successful season,” he said. “I thought we’d win a few more matches 5-0 and we’d put together some real good matches, but we've actually only won one match 5-0 all season long. So we’ve struggled at some positions, but that shows the team character of people pulling through to win.”
That character will need to be on display once again Tuesday, when the Squires will most likely face the Plymouth Pilgrims, who would win their 17-straight sectional with a victory over Bremen or John Glenn tonight.
On the other side of the regional bracket, CMA has already advanced while Warsaw could do so with a win over Tippecanoe Valley tonight.
“We’re going to be the smallest school there,” Eichenauer said. “We’re (probably) going against Plymouth, a very strong program. They’ve been sectional champs many, many years. Warsaw, we’d expect them to win their sectional again and Culver Military Academy is a team that is like a small college, being able to recruit from other countries and states. We’re a lot smaller than the other high schools and in a lot different category.”
Despite the odds, Eichenauer has high hopes for his Squires.
“For us, this is a great accomplishment to be able to win the sectional, but I think the guys are going to surprise themselves,” he said. “I think we can compete with those other teams. We have to realize that we maybe haven’t been pushed to make us play to our best capabilities. Now’s the time to step up and play your best tennis.”
MANCHESTER 4, WABASH 1
(Sectional 48 C'ship)
SINGLES: No. 1 – Connor Eichenauer (M) def. J.D. Boone 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 – Max Karg (M) def. Edward Dillard 6-2, 6-0; No. 3 – Kody Fuller (W) def. Brayton Spann 6-3, 6-3
DOUBLES: No. 1 – Noah Cain/Morgan Metzger (M) def. Thomas Grier/Aaron Hartley 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 – Dalton Day/Branden Scott (M) def. Jalen Grier/Troy Vigar 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Manchester Record: 13-2[[In-content Ad]]
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Defeating Wabash 4-1, the Squires advanced to Tuesday’s Culver Military Academy Regional, where they’ll face the winner of Sectional 4 at Bremen.
In their previous meeting with the Wabash Apaches back on Sept. 17 in North Manchester, the Squires also won 4-1, making the team feel pretty confident going into the sectional final.
“We knew, if we played our style of tennis, that we’d have a very good chance, but we had to come out and perform,” fifth-year Manchester boys tennis coach Joel Eichenauer said. “I have a lot of respect for Wabash. Coach Dan Ford has had very successful teams over the past six to eight years. He puts out a very competitive team and we saw that here tonight. His guys stepped it up and played better than they did during the conference match.”
In the second go-round between the two Three Rivers Conference teams, Manchester dominated at No. 1 and 2 singles as well as No. 1 doubles, which was no surprise to Eichenauer.
“The guys that led us all year, led us once again tonight,” he said. “The guys with the best records are also the guys on the toughest courts.”
The first match to finish up was No. 2 singles, where Manchester sophomore Max Karg made quick work of Wabash’s Edward Dillard, 6-2, 6-0.
Leading the team score 1-0 with Karg’s win, the Squires wrapped up the team victory after sophomore Noah Cain and senior Morgan Metzger picked up a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles and junior Connor Eichenauer quickly followed with a 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles.
Manchester’s other point came at No. 2 doubles, where senior Dalton Day and junior Branden Scott dropped the opening set 7-5, but won the second in a 7-4 tiebreaker, then the third 6-2.
The win improved Manchester to 13-2 and continued a successful season, which included its first TRC title since 2007.
Entering the season, Eichenauer knew his team could be successful, and actually thought it could have even more success than it has.
“I knew we’d have a successful season,” he said. “I thought we’d win a few more matches 5-0 and we’d put together some real good matches, but we've actually only won one match 5-0 all season long. So we’ve struggled at some positions, but that shows the team character of people pulling through to win.”
That character will need to be on display once again Tuesday, when the Squires will most likely face the Plymouth Pilgrims, who would win their 17-straight sectional with a victory over Bremen or John Glenn tonight.
On the other side of the regional bracket, CMA has already advanced while Warsaw could do so with a win over Tippecanoe Valley tonight.
“We’re going to be the smallest school there,” Eichenauer said. “We’re (probably) going against Plymouth, a very strong program. They’ve been sectional champs many, many years. Warsaw, we’d expect them to win their sectional again and Culver Military Academy is a team that is like a small college, being able to recruit from other countries and states. We’re a lot smaller than the other high schools and in a lot different category.”
Despite the odds, Eichenauer has high hopes for his Squires.
“For us, this is a great accomplishment to be able to win the sectional, but I think the guys are going to surprise themselves,” he said. “I think we can compete with those other teams. We have to realize that we maybe haven’t been pushed to make us play to our best capabilities. Now’s the time to step up and play your best tennis.”
MANCHESTER 4, WABASH 1
(Sectional 48 C'ship)
SINGLES: No. 1 – Connor Eichenauer (M) def. J.D. Boone 6-0, 6-2; No. 2 – Max Karg (M) def. Edward Dillard 6-2, 6-0; No. 3 – Kody Fuller (W) def. Brayton Spann 6-3, 6-3
DOUBLES: No. 1 – Noah Cain/Morgan Metzger (M) def. Thomas Grier/Aaron Hartley 6-1, 6-3; No. 2 – Dalton Day/Branden Scott (M) def. Jalen Grier/Troy Vigar 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
Manchester Record: 13-2[[In-content Ad]]
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