By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
Lincoln East and Elkhorn Mt. Michael did what most thought they could do – sometimes the hardest thing in sports – at the 2024 NSAA state tennis championships in Lincoln at Woods Tennis Center.
On Friday, October 18, Elkhorn Mt. Michael took three of the four brackets and cruised to their eighth state championship in school history in Class B. The Knights scored 58 points in defeating Elkhorn North (41.125 points) who was the defending champion. Mt. Michael had the team race locked up heading into Friday’s championship matches.
It wasn’t quite the same for Lincoln East on Tuesday, which headed into the final day tied with Omaha Creighton Prep and Lincoln Southeast. But, the Spartans took all four championships – winning three head-to-head against Prep – to score 60 points and outdistance the Junior Jays 60-43 in the team race.
Class A: Dominant finals matches propel Spartans to fourth straight title
Lincoln East brought four No. 1 seeds to the 2024 Class A state tournament. They all went home with gold medals and a fourth straight team title for the Spartans.
Junior Hunter Nelson capped a 33-0 season with his third No. 1 singles title. He lost just six games in the tournament, defeating Lincoln Southeast freshman Owen Brown 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match.
There was more where that came from for East. Classmate Simon Johnson also finished 33-0 at No. 2 singles and was as impressive in the state tournament. He defeated Creighton Prep’s Blake Gocken 6-0, 6-2 in the finals and lost just three games in the tournament.
At No. 1 doubles, Caden Haar and Samarth Sajeesh repeated their title quest defeating Prep’s Benjamin Clausen and Rowan Lunning in the championship match 6-2, 6-3. It was the fourth title for Haar who won in 2022 with Kirby Le and at No. 2 doubles as a freshman in 2021.
At No. 2 doubles, Joseph Bucknell and Kadyn Le took a 6-0, 6-4 decision from Lincoln Southwest’s Brady Hung and Edin Mujagic for their second state title together. They also won in 2022. Le teamed with Yakub Islamov last year at No. 2 doubles, while Bucknell was an individual champion for East at No. 2 singles.
FINAL BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles | Team Scores
Congratulations to the 2024 Class A State Boys Tennis Individual Champions! #nebpreps 🎾🥇
#1 Singles: Hunter Nelson, Lincoln East
#1 Doubles: Caden Haar/Samarth Sajeesh, Lincoln East
#2 Singles: Simon Johnson, Lincoln East
#2 Doubles: Joseph Bucknell/Kayden Le, Lincoln East pic.twitter.com/j4r0ycEH1a
— NSAA (@nsaahome) October 22, 2024
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Class B: “The Brotherhood” gets Mt. Michael back on top
Tennis has been a family affair for boys tennis at Mt. Michael under head coach Chase Peterson.
In winning the Class B state title last week, the Knights had a set of brothers on the final six roster – Patrick and Peter Killeen – and two others Dominic Benanto and Noah Stricklett who have had brothers on recent Mt. Michael contenders.
“It’s pretty amazing the brotherhood we have around our tennis program and the players and parents we have had over the years,” Peterson said. “I think, for us, it makes it that much more special that they get to do this together.”
In getting to the finals in all four brackets, the Knights had a stress-free final round where they won three of the four title matches.
Senior Ian Scott finished 44-3 at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Waverly’s Grey Klucas in the title match. At No. 2 singles Klucas’ brother, Royce, was a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 winner over Conner Chen in the championship match.
What Peterson calls “great chemistry” and part of the brotherhood carried through in the doubles titles for the Knights at both No. 1 and No. 2.
Junior Noah Stricklett and sophomore Patrick Killeen completed a 52-4 season with a 6-4, 7-5 win over third-seeded Andrew Shada and Jacob Petrick of Elkhorn North in the title match. Stricklett had a brother on the runner-up team a season ago who played No. 2 doubles with Sam Benanito.
Sam’s brother, Dominic, took the No. 2 doubles title on Friday with help from Peter Killeen – Patrick’s brother. They finished with a 35-2 record and defeated EN’s Alejandro Gonzalez-Banos and Brody Armbrust 6-1, 6-2 in the finals.
“It feels really good to get this title back,” Peterson said, after the Knights were edged by Elkhorn North last fall. “I think when you come in with four No. 1 seeds there is pressure but I thought we performed really well at state.
“I am just happy for our kids.”
FINAL BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles | Team Scores
Congratulations to the 2024 NSAA Class B State Boys Tennis Individual Champions! #nebpreps 🎾🥇
#1 Singles: Ian Scott, Mt Michael
#1 Doubles: Patrick Killeen/Noah Stricklett, Mt Michael
#2 Singles: Royce Klucas, Waverly
#2 Doubles: Dominic Beninato/Peter Killeen, Mt Michael pic.twitter.com/vAIu0WKcH1
— NSAA (@nsaahome) October 18, 2024
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.