When the Hamilton Southeastern boys tennis team heads to North Central\u2019s Barbara Wynne Tennis Center on Friday, the Royals will be in what coach Doug Gernert calls \u201cuncharted territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southeastern has played at North Central before, of course. But never in the IHSAA state finals \u2013 until now. The Royals will get their first chance at state when they participate in the quarterfinals, which take place at 10 a.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Freshman Parker Stump (shown before the match), won at No. 2 singles to clinch the winning team point. (Photo provided)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI thought maybe they had done it before,\u201d said Gernert. \u201cThe closest we had gotten before this was 2009, when we were beaten by Center Grove at semi-state.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Southeastern had to get past Center Grove to punch its ticket to state. The No. 9-ranked Royals edged out the host and No. 10 Trojans 3-2 to win the Center Grove 2 semi-state and earn a place in the final eight.<\/p>\n
Southeastern won both doubles matches for a 2-0 lead. The No. 2 team of Ian Ransom and Max Weinberger got the first victory, then the No. 1 team of Logan Faust and Landon Osswald won their match.<\/p>\n
The clincher was No. 2 singles, where freshman Parker Stump outlasted his opponent in a hard-fought battle \u2013 \u201cnot three sets, but it could\u2019ve been,\u201d said Gernert. Stump won 7-6, 7-5.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a lot to expect out of a freshman, but he\u2019s played big for us all year,\u201d said Gernert.<\/p>\n
The Royals dropped the other two matches, but No. 1 singles Brady Stump and No. 3 Evan Holderman both pushed their opponents to three sets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids were going crazy,\u201d said Gernert. \u201cIt didn\u2019t really set in with me until late, because I was still trying to win matches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gernert said the victory began to set in once it was picture time and HSE was holding up the trophy. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much bigger they got every time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After that, the Royals had a fun bus ride home. \u201cIt was a good time. We had the music playing, the kids were bouncing around,\u201d said Gernert.<\/p>\n
Southeastern\u2019s quarterfinal opponent at state is Silver Creek. The No. 28-ranked Dragons won the Jasper 1 semi-state by beating Evansville North 4-1. Earlier in the tournament, Silver Creek triumphed at the Jeffersonville regional with a 5-0 semifinal win over Corydon Central and a 3-2 victory against No. 21 Floyd Central.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve not seen them play at all,\u201d said Gernert. \u201cMy guess is any team that\u2019s made it this far is a solid team. Any team that\u2019s ranked in the top 30 is a solid team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gernert said that not knowing about Silver Creek makes the Dragons \u201cscarier because you don\u2019t know what they have. We\u2019re going to take them very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n