BT STATE FINALS: #1 Carmel tops #4 North Central for third straight title

From ihsaa.org

For the second year in row, top-ranked Carmel bested rival North Central (Indianapolis) in the final match of the season – this time to claim its third consecutive state championship in boys tennis Oct. 13 at the 46th Annual IHSAA Team State Finals at North Central.

The 4-1 victory was Carmel’s eighth championship overall in the sport and fifth under coach Mike Bostic.

The Greyhounds (21-1) wasted no time in winning at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles, and Patrick Farrell’s 6-2, 6-3 victory over North Central’s Rudy Frazier at No. 3 singles proved the title clincher.

Sameer Kumar (No. 1 singles) and Charlie Emhardt & Dan Rodefeld (No. 1 doubles) were responsible for the first two Carmel points of the match. Kumar defeated Riley Reist, 6-1, 6-0, while Emhardt/Rodefeld topped Patrick McAuley & William Reifeis, 6-0, 6-3.

Jeffrey Chen & Michael Makio closed out the dual with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory at No. 2 doubles over North Central’s Ari Gerstein & J.T. Wayne.

Fourth-ranked North Central (21-2), coached by Dan Brunette, earned its lone point of the match courtesy of J.J. Kroot’s 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles over Chris Quammen.

North Central had topped Carmel, 3-2, back on Aug. 30, the Greyhounds’ lone loss of the season.

Carmel had earned its way to the final match with a 4-1 quarterfinal win Friday over No. 7 Center Grove and another 4-1 triumph over No. 10 Bloomington South during Saturday’s morning semifinals.

North Central, meanwhile, turned away third-ranked Fort Wayne Canterbury, 5-0, on Friday, and beat second-ranked Park Tudor, 3-2 in the other semifinal.

Comments from Carmel coach Mike Bostic
"It is hard to put in words how proud I am of this team. We dealt with a lot adversity this season, but the guys never lost faith in each other. The team made history today with the 3-peat. We are going to savor this one."

“Sameer bounced back from a morning loss and was just unstoppable. I have no doubts that he will win that singles title he desperately wants, but he is a team player first and he showed that this afternoon.

“Chris played a very smart player in Kroot and struggled to find his rhythm.

“(Assistant) coach (Howard) Jones and I had a gut feeling about Patrick Farrell at 3 singles. He is the kind of kid you want at that spot. He is patient and hard-nosed, and he delivered that decisive point.

“Charlie and Daniel are playing some of the best doubles I have seen from a Carmel doubles team. They communicate so well and really understand what each other's strengths are. They have a great shot at the doubles title next weekend.

“Jeffrey and Michael showed tremendous fight and were able to get the win.

Bloomington South’s Schneider wins Mental Attitude Award
Ronnie Schneider of Bloomington South was selected as the winner of this year’s Mental Attitude Award in boys tennis by the IHSAA Executive Committee. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the school in his name.

Schneider helped his squad to a state finals appearance before the Panthers fell 4-1 in Saturday’s semifinal round to eventual champion Carmel. Schneider, still undefeated on the year, will defend his singles championship at next weekend’s individual state finals.

The son of Ron and Anita Schneider of Bloomington will attend the University of North Carolina on a tennis scholarship next fall.

The complete results:

Quarterfinals (Friday 3 p.m. ET)
At Carmel
Match 1: #10 Bloomington South 3, Valparaiso (17-3) 2
Singles
1. Ronnie Schneider (12) Bloomington South def. Ben Kalisch (12), 6-0, 6-0
2. Marty Pochop (12) Valparaiso def. Jake Frederickson (10), 6-2, 6-2
3. Eric Cender (12) Valparaiso def. Sam Karcher (10), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1

Doubles
1. Matt Helm (12) | Alex Jung (11) Bloomington South def. Jared Folke (11) | Peter Williams (11), 6-0, 6-0
2. Matt Johnsen (11) | Will Piekarsky (9) Bloomington South def. Pall Baggett (11) | Domonkos Szabo (12), 6-2, 6-2

Match 2: #1 Carmel 4, #7 Center Grove (17-6) 1
Singles
1. Sameer Kumar (10) Carmel def. Luke Andersen (12), 6-4, 6-1
2. Conner Andersen (10) Center Grove def. Chris Quammen (12), 7-5, 6-2
3. Patrick Farrell (12) Carmel def. Cam Schoolcraft (10), 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. Charlie Emhardt (12) | Daniel Rodefeld (12) Carmel def. Logan Clevenger (12) | Cole McDaniel (12), 6-0, 6-0
2. Jeffrey Chen (10) | Michael Makio (10) Carmel def. Vaughn Knutson (11) | Kyle Marsh (12), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1

At Lawrence Central
Match 3: #4 North Central (Indianapolis) 5, #3 Fort Wayne Canterbury (21-1) 0
Singles
1. Riley Reist (11) North Central def. Clay Hoffacker (11), 6-1, 6-3
2. J.J. Kroot (9) North Central def. Davis Huber (11), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. Rudolph Frazier (12) North Central def. Tom Filus (10), 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. Patrick McAuley (10) | William Reifeis (11) North Central vs. William Wright (12) | Chris Yahanda (11), 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2. Ari Gerstein (10) | J.T. Wayne (9) North Central def. Patrick Downs (12) | Chad Schouweiler (10), 6-2, 6-1

Match 4: #2 Park Tudor 4, #8 Jasper (19-3) 1
Singles
1. Dan Rayl (10) Park Tudor def. Eli Seng (11), 6-1, 6-1
2. Scott Thygesen (10) Park Tudor def. Grant Weaver (10), 6-1, 6-2
3. Pete Dakich (12) Park Tudor def. Logan Mathies (9), 6-2, 7-5

Doubles
1. Noah Moss (12) | Will Seger (12) Jasper def. Jack McCarter (11) | Graham Reinbold (12), 6-2, 6-2
2. Alex Bertolini (10) | Levi Siegel (12) Park Tudor def. Aaron Nordhoff (12) | Ben Seng (11), 6-2, 4-6, 6-2

Semifinals (Saturday 10 a.m. ET)
At North Central (Indianapolis)
Match 5: #1 Carmel 4, #10 Bloomington South (17-4) 1
Singles
1. Ronnie Schneider (12) Bloomington South def. Sameer Kumar (10), 6-1, 6-3
2. Chris Quammen (12) Carmel def. Jake Frederickson (10), 6-0, 6-0
3. Patrick Farrell (12) Carmel def. Sam Karcher (10), 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. Charlie Emhardt (12) | Daniel Rodefeld (12) Carmel def. Matt Helm (12) | Alex Jung (11), 6-1, 6-0
2. Jeffrey Chen (10) | Michael Makio (10) Carmel def. Matt Johnsen (11) | Will Piekarsky (9), 6-1, 6-2

Match 6: #4 North Central (Indianapolis) 3, #2 Park Tudor (18-3) 2
Singles
1. Dan Rayl (10) Park Tudor def. Riley Reist (11), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. Scott Thygesen (10) Park Tudor def. J.J. Kroot (9), 7-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. Rudolph Frazier (12) North Central def. Pete Dakich (12), 6-4, 6-4

Doubles
1. Patrick McAuley (10) | William Reifeis (11) North Central def. Jack McCarter (11) | Graham Reinbold (12), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
2. Ari Gerstein (10) | J.T. Wayne (9) North Central def. Alex Bertolini (10) | Levi Siegel (12), 1-6, 6-1, 6-3

Championship (Saturday 2 p.m. ET)
At North Central (Indianapolis)
Match 7: #1 Carmel (21-1) 4, #4 North Central (Indianapolis) (21-2) 1
Singles
1. Sameer Kumar (10) Carmel def. Riley Reist (11), 6-1, 6-0
2. J.J. Kroot (9) North Central def. Chris Quammen (12), 7-5, 6-2
3. Patrick Farrell (12) Carmel def. Rudolph Frazier (12), 6-2, 6-3

Doubles
1. Charlie Emhardt (12) | Daniel Rodefeld (12) Carmel def. Patrick McAuley (10) | William Reifeis (11), 6-0, 6-3
2. Jeffrey Chen (10) | Michael Makio (10) Carmel def. Ari Gerstein (10) | J.T. Wayne (9), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5