South Bend Saint Joseph, Goshen win regionals
South Bend Saint Joseph boys tennis coach Matthew Halfpenny said his goal this season was to continue the success of the tradition-rich program he inherited.
The first-year coach has certainly seen his veteran group do just that.
No. 19 St. Joe used a clean singles sweep to down Chesterton, 4-1, Wednesday night to claim the LaPorte Regional crown at Kesling Park.
St. Joe, now 15-3 this season and winners of 14 regional titles, advances to the Culver Academy Semistate Saturday to face No. 1 Carmel at noon. Carmel won six-straight state championships from 2017-22 and 14 overall.
St. Joe, which lost in the regional to NIC rival Penn in 2022, rolled past the Trojans. The trio of Colin Blumentritt, Jacob Hix and Will Westberry were all dominant at the three singles positions for the champions.
“Colin, Jacob and Will all came out with the focus we were talking about pre-match,” said Halfpenny by text Wednesday night. “Each court jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in their first set and did not take their foot off the game. It was great to see each of them stick to their game plan and execute accordingly.”
Will Westberry won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 singles to set the tone for the champions. Hix prevailed 6.-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles play and Colin Blumentritt posted a 6-3, 6-2 win at the top singles spot.
St. Joe, which won the NIC title and beat Penn during the regular season, got its fourth point at No. 1 doubles as Luke Blumentritt and Jake Westberry posted a 6-2, 6-4 victory. Chesterton won 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 over Cormac Kennedy and Ben Brady at No. 2 doubles.
“I am extremely proud of these boys and the way they have continued their focus and determination to come out on top in the regional,” stated Halfpenny, who replaced Hall of Fame coach Steve Bender. “As always they have represented Saint Joseph High Scnool with class and we look forward to the challenge ahead in the semistate.
“We will use the next two days to prepare and get in a mindset to compete to our full potential.” Chesterton finished its season at 13-4.
Goshen claims thriller over Penn
“Clutch.”
That’s the word that Goshen boys tennis coach Daniel Love used to describe his top player Pi Wellington Wednesday night.
And it fit like a glove. Wellington, one of five seniors for the No. 18 RedHawks, delivered when it mattered most.
Wellington rallied to outlast Penn standout Chris Chen in a three-set thriller 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1 singles to give Goshen the clinching point in a 3-2 win over the No. 25 Kingsmen in the title match of the NorthWood Regional.
Goshen, which claims its ninth overall and second straight regional crown, advances to the Homestead Semistate Saturday. Goshen, now 21-2, will face
No. 8 Homestead at noon. Goshen lost to Homestead earlier this season.
“Pi was clutch at the end,” said Love by text Wednesday night. “Our team played great and worked really hard to gut out the win.”
Wellington had lost to Chen, the NIC MVP, in three sets during their regular season matchup.
Goshen, which beat Penn 4-1 during the regular season, won both doubles matches to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Kyan Miller and senior Myles McLaughlin topped sophomores Quinn Lippert and Caleb Oneese 6-2, 7-6 at No. 1. The duo of seniors Moses Kratzer and Tyler Scott beat senior Jaden Shim and sophomore Jacob Kyle 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2.
Penn got its first point at No. 3 singles as junior Noah Sytsma topped sophomore Eli Stickel 6-4, 6-4.
Wellington then clinched the team title with the third point for the RedHawks, whose other loss this season was to regional winner Saint Joseph.
Penn got its second point as junior
Evan Knapp beat senior Isaac Stahly 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 at No. 2 singles.
Penn coach Eric Bowers was classy in defeat.
“Goshen is a hell of a team and I wish them well in the semi-state,” said Bowers by phone Wednesday night. “My guys did a good job and their guys did a good job. My guys gave it all they had and that’s all that I can ask of them It just did not go our way tonight.”
Penn’s lineup was different at No. 2 and 3 singles than during their 4-1 regular season loss to Goshen.
“We knew that it would be a very close match,” Bowers said. “We battled hard at all five spots. Chris (Chen) is just a great kid and so is Pi for them. “
Bowers loses just one senior in Shim from his lineup Wednesday night. The Kingsmen finished at 16-5.
“I don’t know if our guys are more excited for next year or for DQ (Dairy Queen) tonight,” quipped Bowers as he treated his team to ice cream in Nappanee Wednesday night.