LAPEL — Emblazoned on the front the Madison County tennis championship trophy, which was perched outside the Lapel courts, were the past champion schools. The last two listed are Lapel’s 2014 and 2015 titles, with the 2016 champion not yet added to the list. After Friday’s title match against Pendleton Heights, the Bulldogs can have 2016 and 2017 added in one trip to the engraver and proudly show off the history made by the current seniors.
Lapel swept through the Arabians 5-0 Friday, Aug. 25, winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive Madison County championship.
“We’ll try to keep it going as long as we can,” Lapel coach Justin Coomer said. “I’m not saying we played our best tennis by any stretch, to be honest. Pendleton Heights came at us, and they were ready to play, but regardless, it’s good. Not many kids can say they won county four years in a row, maybe five sectionals, we had never won any before that. I just reminded (the players) that they are on a special kind of deal here.”
The Bulldogs were never seriously threatened in any of the matches Friday. Junior Ross Hagen and freshman Dawson Allen put the first point on the board for Lapel with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Caleb King and Evan Smith in the No. 2 doubles match.
Soon after, Joseph Conrad wrapped up a 6-3, 6-1 win versus Drew Wilson in the No. 1 singles match, and Austin Lyons finished off Kaleb Alumbaugh 6-0, 6-3 in the No. 3 singles match to clinch the title for the Bulldogs and a group of seniors that are a perfect four-for-four in the tournament.
“It’s a pretty big deal — the first in school history — so it’s definitely something to remember,” Conrad, one of three seniors who start for the Bulldogs.
Fellow senior Zach Krebs, who teamed with junior Reid Ratzlaff for a 6-2, 6-2 win against Seth Moore and Jackson McKinney in the No. 1 doubles match, did not realize that no school had ever won four in a row.
“Now it’s a lot bigger than I thought,” Krebs said. “I know it was a big deal for the people that graduated when we won when I was a freshman and a sophomore. It feels like we’ve really made our mark winning it four in a row.”
Sophomore Jesse McCurdy added a 6-0, 6-1 win at the No. 2 singles slot over Walker Stull to complete the sweep for the Bulldogs, who hope to carry the momentum from this title forward through big matches this week and beyond.
“We have a couple big matches next week,” Coomer said. “We saw a lot of improvement. Our doubles are starting to click a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll keep progressing through the year and we’ll be playing our best tennis by the (postseason) tournament.”
Both Lapel (6-0) and Pendleton Heights (5-1) will be return to the courts Monday and Tuesday. The Bulldogs host Noblesville Monday, and New Palestine Tuesday, while the Arabians hit the road for Hoosier Heritage Conference matches at Mt. Vernon Monday and Shelbyville Tuesday.
Vs. Madison-Grant
The Lapel Bulldogs took the first step on their quest for a fourth straight county title Wednesday, Aug. 23, with a dominating 5-0 win against Madison-Grant.
Lapel won the three singles matches without losing a single game. Conrad, McCurdy and Lyons all won by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
In doubles play, Krebs and Ratzlaff took three sets to close out Bailey McCord and Nick Evans in the No. 1 match 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, while Allen and Hagen won the No. 2 match over Jackson Manwell and Dillon Sneed 6-4, 6-4.
