NIC powers Saint Joseph, Penn to IHSAA men’s tennis semistate titles

The Northern Indiana Conference has always been known for its quality in men’s tennis.

This fact was never more evident than on Saturday.

More: Jacob Hix is ​​Northern Indiana Conference men’s tennis MVP

More: Saint Joseph and Penn men’s tennis teams win IHSAA regional championships

Saint Joseph’s and Penn, the two perennial NIC powers, each punched their ticket to the eight-team state finals with semistate championships.

No. 15 St. Joe held off Western 3-2 to win the Culver Academy Semistate crown, while No. 16 Penn topped No. 12 Homestead 3-2 in a thriller to win the Homestead Semistate title.

St. Joe (17-1) will face No. 5 Columbus North Friday in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. at North Central High School in Indianapolis. Penn (23-4) will face No. 4 Center Grove, also Friday at 10 a.m., in a quarterfinal matchup at North Central.

Hix brothers power Huskies

St. Joe, powered once again by its outstanding brother duo Jacob and Oliver Hix, won the program’s sixth semistate title and first since 2016.

Sophomore Jacob Hix beat Eli Mast 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles and freshman Oliver Hix topped Evan Trauring 6-3, 6-4 to lead the way for the Huskies .

“I don’t have to worry about them,” St. Joe coach Matthew Halfpenny said by phone Saturday of the Hix brothers. “I know they are ready to play every game. They are focused and understand what they need to do to be prepared and it shows in their performance.

“What Jacob did at No. 1 is really special. I look back at his one loss at Homestead and that really motivated him and changed his trajectory since then.

“Oliver had a great day. He had a tough opponent and he handled it really well, especially as a freshman.”

Jacob, who was the NIC MVP, and Oliver are both now 16-1 this season.

The Huskies also won at No. 2 doubles as senior Cormac Kennedy and sophomore Jack Mattison defeated Alex Aaron and Brady Thompson 6-0, 6-4. The St. Joe duo is now 15-3.

“Our guys are excited to win,” noted second-year coach Halfpenny. “It was a very competitive game in a great environment and we had tremendous support. Especially for our (five) seniors, it means a lot. It’s been a while since St. Joe won the semis. states and this is the first time they have done so.

“Even though we were up 3-0, it was competitive all round. My goal was for our doubles teams to mesh well and they did. Cormac and Jack did a fantastic job.”

Western, which finished 19-3, had wins at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles. Charlie Gilbert beat sophomore Ben Brady 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 at third singles. The duo of Aidan Mawbey and Kaleb York dominated seniors Jake Westberry and Nick Nguyen 6-2, 7-5 at No. 1 doubles. Brady is now 13-5, while Westberry and Nguyen are 15-2.

The Huskies, who beat Penn to win the NIC title, lost in semistate to Carmel last year. Their only loss this season was against Homestead.

“We’re excited to move forward, but not satisfied,” Halfpenny said, looking toward State. “Why not continue? I’m quite happy with the opportunities we have.”

Penn wins in thriller

The Kingsmen made sure their longtime coach Eric Bowers’ final season was one to remember.

Penn overturned a 3-2 regular season loss to Homestead with a dramatic victory over the powerhouse Spartans on their home turf for a thrilling semistate championship.

The Kingsmen, who won their fifth semistate overall and first since 2013, were victorious as juniors Jacob Kyle and Ben Stambaugh defeated senior Eli Hallman and junior Will Miller 7-5, 5-7 , 6-2 at second place in doubles for doubles. the third and decisive point of the marathon competition. Kyle and Stambaugh improved to 15-4.

Bowers announced earlier this season that he would step down as boys coach at the end of the season. He is 263-71 in 15 seasons as the Kingsmen boys coach and was an assistant before that. The former NorthWood High School standout plans to continue as Penn’s girls coach next spring. He is 262-67 in 15 seasons as girls coach.

“It’s a lot of fun to come out on top in a really close game like this,” Bowers said by phone Saturday. “Our girls team lost here 3-2 on this field in the spring (to Fort Wayne Carroll in the semistate), so it’s really good to be on the 3-2 side today.

“I said before the game it would be 3-2 and I just hoped we were on the right side. We’re super excited and I’m super happy for my three senior captains (Chris Chen, Evan Knapp and Noah Sytsma) in particular, they are a special group. They have worked to achieve this and have come close in the past.

Penn also picked up a win at No. 3 singles as junior Quinn Lippert defeated senior John Cowan 6-3, 6-3. Lippert, who is now 21-3, was out due to illness and did not play in the 3-2 loss to Homestead on September 21.

The Kingsmen also won at No. 1 doubles as freshman Josh Weaver and senior Noah Sytsma defeated senior Devesh Vamadevan and sophomore Will Miller 4-6, 6-4, 6- 3. Weaver and Sytsma improved to 20-2.

“Our No. 2 doubles lost to Homestead last time, so it was great to see them get the final point today,” Bowers said. “Our No. 1 doubles team stayed positive against a very tough team.

“We had a different lineup today than the first time against them with Quinn coming back. I also think playing the tough teams we played on our schedule also prepared us for a game like this Today.”

The host Spartans won at No. 1 singles as junior Ben Garrean defeated senior Chris Chen 6-3, 6-2. Homestead also won the No. 2 singles match as junior Eric Ji stopped senior Evan Knapp 6-0, 6-3. Chen is 20-5 and Knapp is 19-6 for the Kingsmen.

Homestead, which has won 23 semistate titles, has been a state runner-up each of the last two seasons. The Spartans finished 21-5 on the season.

This article was originally published on South Bend Tribune: Saint Joseph, Penn win IHSAA men’s tennis semistate titles