By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The NSAA State Boys Tennis Championships get underway on Thursday at Lincoln’s Woods Tennis Center with the Class B Championships on Thursday and Friday, October 17 and 18. With the weekend off, Class A will also be at Woods on Monday and Tuesday, October 21 and 22.
Two tradition-rich programs head in as overwhelming favorites on the brackets as Lincoln East (Class A) and Mount Michael Benedictine (Class B), each having the top-seed at all four positions.
The Spartans have lost just a single match between doubles and singles this year and will be looking for their fourth consecutive Class A title. The Knights will be going for their eighth title in school history which trails just Lincoln Pius X’s 13 on the all-time marks.
Matches begin at 9:00 AM each day, with championship matches at 1:00 on Friday and Tuesday. All first round matches are played in an 8-game pro set. Second round and quarterfinal matches play two six-game sets and if needed a 10-point super tiebreaker. The semifinals and finals move to best-of-3.
Matches at No. 1 singles and doubles are awarded four points/win and matches at No. 2 singles and doubles are awarded two points/win to determine team championships. Point values adjust down in the 3rd-8th place match tree.
While there is no district qualifying in tennis, the participants are seeded by a committee of coaches in each class. In Class A, 16 players/teams are seeded in each bracket by a five-member committee and in Class B, 12 are seeded by a three-member committee.
Class A: East poised to continue championship run
Lincoln East brings four No. 1 seeds with a combined 121-1 record to the event as they try to chase a four-peat in the Class A team race. Not only are the Spartans talented, but they have loads of state tournament experience as well.
Junior Hunter Nelson is 29-0 on the season and is looking for his third No. 1 singles title on a quest to become a four-time Class A champion. Classmate Simon Johnson is also 29-0 at No. 2 singles for the Spartans and coach Chris Stock.
At No. 1 doubles, Caden Haar and Samarth Sajeesh will try to repeat their 2023 title, which would be a fourth in a row 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 will again team with Kirby Le for a repeat of their 2022 title. Le teamed with Yakub Islamov last year at No. 2 doubles, while Bucknell was an individual champion for East at No. 2 singles.
Top chasers to the Spartans this year include Lincoln Southeast and Creighton Prep, who both have top-four seeds at all four spots in the lineup.
BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles
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Class B: Mount Michael hopes to climb back on top
After coming up “one match short” and losing the team race to Elkhorn North last fall, Mt. Michael is looking for their first state title since 2021 on Thursday and Friday.
“Our boys worked really hard over the summer to be in this position to try and win the team championship,” said Mt. Michael head coach Chase Peterson. “Last year was a big motivator for them and they set their goals pretty high from the beginning of the season.”
Like Lincoln East, the Knights hold the top-seed in each of the four brackets.
Ian Scott is 40-3 at No. 1 singles and a new addition to the Mt. Micheal team after being ineligible to compete as a junior. His addition moved Connor Chen to No. 2 doubles where he has a 37-2 record as the top-seed.
“Ian has been a huge help to our lineup,” Peterson said, “but I think he has also helped our other players as well. Connor’s game has really developed for us this year, too. His game playing at No. 2 singles has really improved since last year.”
The Knights have the defending Class B champions at No. 1 doubles in junior Noah Stricklett and sophomore Patrick Killeen. They are 48-4 on the season. After playing with lineups a bit early in the season, Peterson settled on seniors Dominic Beninito and Peter Killeen – Patrick’s brother – at No. 2 doubles. They enter state with a 31-2 record.
“We cycled through some combinations (at No. 2 doubles),” Peterson said. “One thing we learned was we needed chemistry. Lincoln Christian had a great chemistry and that really took them to the title last year at No. 2 doubles.”
Defending champion Elkhorn North and Lincoln Pius – back in Class B this season – each have top-six seeds in all four brackets and would be likely contenders to slow down Mt. Michael.
BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles
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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.