Delta boys tennis won its first regional title since 2022, knocking off Westfield in a semifinal thriller before sealing the deal against Alexandria.
NOBLESVILLE — Tim Cleland has coached more than 1,500 tennis matches in his three-plus decade career as the Delta boys and girls tennis coach. He is the all-time winningest head coach in Indiana high school tennis history and is believed to be the all-time victory leader in Indiana high school history for any sport.
He called the Eagles' regional semifinal victory over Westfield on Tuesday, Oct. 8, one of the best that he has ever been a part of.
"We were reassigned to this (Noblesville) regional three or four years ago. It's a very difficult regional in a growing area of Indianapolis," Cleland said. "Noblesville, along with Westfield, are very much a growing area with very large schools and very good tennis programs. Just being able to step up to the challenge that this regional presents us and answering that challenge and winning the championship with this team is really special."
Delta entered the regional ranked No. 13 in the state by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association, while Westfield was ranked No. 11 and had been ranked as high as No. 7 during the regular season. The match took over three hours and came down to the wire with two intense matches at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles, but the Eagles ultimately knocked off the Shamrocks, 3-2.
Westfield put the pressure on early, winning the first set 6-4 in each of the three singles matches. That pressure was exacerbated when the Rocks took both the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches. Westfield sophomore Luke Stoecker defeated Delta freshman Charlie Vannatter 6-4, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, while Westfield junior Ajay Prasanna claimed a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Delta sophomore Luke Atkinson to put the Rocks one win away from advancing to the regional finals.
Senior Aaron Elliott and junior Tyce Dishman earned the Eagles their first win with a 6-4, 7-6 (6) victory at No. 1 doubles. The duo has not lost together since August and kept their momentum flowing as the only Eagles to not lose a set against the Rocks.
"We've played with each other for three years, so we kind of understand what's going to happen with each other," Dishman said. "We kind of understand each other's tendencies, so just being aware of what's going to happen is kind of crucial."
Their win left the Delta's fate in the hands of freshman Jackson Darby at No. 1 singles and the duo of senior Brady Williams and freshman Brandon Grubbs at No. 2 doubles.
Williams and Grubbs were playing together for just the seventh time all season, and the duo faced match point twice. Still, they dug in and survived with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (4) victory to keep the Eagles' regional dreams alive.
"It was intense," Williams said. "Getting that close, coming down to the wire like that. When we got up there, we just had to try our best to stay composed through it all, keep your emotions calm, and just trust in your shots."
The crowd of Eagles fans and players made its way over to the No. 1 singles court, where Darby was locked into a thriller with Westfield senior Parker Paramoure, who was on the all-state singles team last season. Paramoure had won the first set, 6-4, but Darby bounced back with a 6-2 win in the second set. Paramoure scratched and clawed his way to survive four match points, but Darby ultimately clinched a 6-4 win, and with it, a chance to play for the regional championship.
"A lot of relief when I pulled it out, because it was definitely a close match," Darby said. "When (Paramoure) even won the first set, I knew that it was a close set, so then I just tried to battle back and stay in it."
With the victory, Delta advanced to the regional championship match on Wednesday, Oct. 8, against Alexandria-Monroe. The Tigers were coming off their first sectional title since 2002 and defeated Jay County, 5-0, in their own regional semifinal. However, they were no match for the Eagles, and Delta claimed the regional crown with a 4-1 victory.
Most of the Eagles made quick work of their opponents. Darby won 6-0, 6-2; Vannatter won 6-2, 6-0; and Atkinson won 6-3, 6-0 in the singles matches, while Elliott and Dishman won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles. With the match already decided in Delta's favor, Williams and senior Ben Miller agreed to play a 10-point tiebreaker with Alexandria's freshman No. 2 doubles duo of Aryeh Hollingsworth and Cooper Morgan after splitting the first two sets 6-0, 4-6. The young Tigers surprised the more experienced duo with a 10-8 win, giving Alexandria its lone victory of the match.
The regional championship marks the Eagles' first since 2022 and their first since being reassigned to the tough Noblesville sectional. The two-year drought without a regional title in 2023 and 2024 marked Delta's longest regional drought since winning its first in 1995. The Eagles have now won 26 regionals in the last 30 years.
The pair of victories on Tuesday and Wednesday improved Delta's season record to 20-2. The Eagles will advance to semi-states at the Culver Academies, where they will take on the IHSTCA's No. 2-ranked Homestead. The Spartans defeated Peru, 5-0, in the Bluffton regional and handed Delta one of its two losses this season at the Fort Wayne Carroll Invitational on Sept. 7.
However, despite falling 4-1 to Homestead a month ago, the Eagles' familiarity with the Spartans and the momentum they gained at regionals has them feeling confident heading into the Sweet 16.
"We have to go into everything feeling like we're right there and we belong," Cleland said. "That's one thing this team's not had a problem with is feeling that they belong up against the toughest competition all season long."
Contact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Delta boys tennis wins first IHSAA regional title since 2022
Category: General Sports
