By Chris Basnett — For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The NSAA State Boys Tennis Championships begin Thursday morning at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, with the Class A championships on Thursday and Friday and Class B taking the courts at Woods Monday and Tuesday, October 20 and 21.
Like last season, Lincoln East in Class A and Mount Michael Benedictine in Class B are the favorites in the team race.
East is unbeaten and the No. 1 seed at every position except for No. 2 singles, where it is the No. 2 seed, and is coming off a state duals event in which it won 14 of 15 matches to claim the title. The Spartans have scored the maximum 60 points in their last three state championship wins.
It’s a similar story for Mount Michael, which won 13 of 15 matches at the state duals event. Last year the Knights won their third state championship in a five-year stretch. That came after a second-place finish in 2023 in which Mount Michael finished second, 1.75 points behind Elkhorn North.
Matches begin at 9 a.m. each day, with Class A championship matches set for 1 p.m. Friday, and Class B championship matches scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday. Semifinal and championship matches are best-of-3 sets. All first-round matches are played in n 8-game pro set. Second round and quarterfinal matches play two six-game sets, and if needed, a 10-point super tiebreaker.
Matches at No. 1 singles and doubles are awarded four points per win, and matches at No. 2 singles and doubles are awarded two points per win to determine the team championships. Point values adjust down in the third through eight-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 four-member committee. In Class B, 12 players/teams are seeded also by a four-member committee.
Class A: Lincoln East drives for five
The Lincoln East tennis juggernaut rolls into state once again as the favorite as the Spartans try to lock down their fifth consecutive state championship.
East is trying to become the first program to win five championships in a row since Creighton Prep won six straight from 2001-05 as part of a run of nine championships in 10 seasons. East’s eight titles in a row from 1988-95 are the state record.
Not that the Spartans are all that interested in talking about history. At least not yet.
“We usually don’t even talk about state and things like that in that manner and kind of isolate it. We just kind of talk about just preparing for the next practice or the next match,” East coach Chris Stock said. “So really, we haven’t ever discussed state and things like that for years. We just kind of go out and play.
“We just want everybody to play their game. And our whole goal here is to be playing our best tennis in late October. And that’s that hasn’t changed at all.”
The Spartans have reached that goal with ease in their previous four titles, winning by 16.5, 20, 22.875 and 12 points.
But the usual challengers will still try to chase East down.
Creighton Prep, runner-up to East in three of the last four state championships, has the top seed in No. 2 singles in unbeaten junior Blake Gocken (31-0). The Junior Jays also have the No. 4 seed at No. 1 singles, which could mean a semifinal matchup between Prep’s Alex Liu and East’s Hunter Nelson. Prep is the No. 3 seed at No. 1 doubles, and the No. 2 seed in No. 2 doubles.
“Creighton Prep was runner-up last year, so they’re a really strong team, and they have everybody back,” Stock said. “(Lincoln) Southwest has been playing some really good tennis at all their positions. They can beat anybody.”
Someone who hasn’t been beaten? Lincoln East senior Hunter Nelson. Nelson heads into the state meet with a remarkable 135-0 career record, leaving him four wins away from becoming just the second tennis player in Nebraska history to win four Class A championships without losing a match.
Should Nelson win the title, he would become the first to win four consecutive Class A No. 1 singles championships since Omaha Central’s Joe Salerno did so from 1984-87. The other four-time champion is Creighton Prep’s Bill Brown, who won his titles from 1960-63 while going undefeated in his career.
However, Nelson figures to receive a big push from city rival Owen Brown of Lincoln Southeast, who Nelson beat in last year’s championship match. This year, Brown took Nelson to a tiebreaker before losing in August, and also pushed Nelson in an 8-6 Nelson win in late September.
“The things that, last five years, that these guys that have come through the East tennis program have accomplished, it’s really something you almost don’t want to think about until after (the championships) are over,” Stock said. “Just because it’s just so amazing.
“I think that the nice thing is, they don’t really talk about things like that in terms of those types of things. Obviously I’m sure they’re all aware of those things, but at the same time, they also realize you can’t control winning and losing,” Stock said. “There’s someone on the other side of the net trying to, trying to do the same thing you’re trying to do. So you just have to go out and just play your best and give it your all, and whatever happens, they can feel good about representing their high school.”
BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles
Class B: Mount Michael tries to defend title
Mount Michael scored 58 of a possible 60 points last season to win the title by 16.875 points over Elkhorn North.
The Knights will have a chance to get near that total again, with the top-seeded No. 1 doubles team of Patrick Killeen and Noah Stricklett (46-2 record) leading the way.
Andrew Pentel (41-6) is the No. 2 seed at No. 2 singles, while the No. 2 doubles duo of John Kreuger and Holden Kutash (41-5) also earned a No. 2 seed. Connor Chen at No. 1 singles is a No. 4 seed for the Knights.
But there figures to be plenty of competition from the usual suspects. Elkhorn North has the top seed in No. 2 doubles (Jack Pierson/Jake Renes), and top-four seeds in No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles. Lincoln Pius X has three top-3 seeds, including the top seed at No. 1 singles (Connor White). The Thunderbolts also have the No. 6 seed at No. 2 doubles.
Want an upstart to watch in the team race? Lincoln Standing Bear has the top seed at No. 2 singles (JT Reid) and the third seed at No. 2 doubles (Jackson Froeschl/Jaxson Minzel).
BRACKETS: No. 1 Singles | No. 2 Singles | No. 1 Doubles | No. 2 Doubles