Delta No. 1 doubles advance, all 3 ECI teams eliminated in IHSAA boys tennis regionals

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — The three remaining East Central Indiana boys tennis teams — Delta, New Castle and Jay County — were eliminated in the IHSAA regional round.

Yorktown's No. 1 singles Anson Isaacs' season ended as well in his individual sectional championship, while the Patriots' No. 1 singles Abraham Dirksen won his thrilling individual regional semifinal matchup 2-1 (7-6, 4-6, 6-4) in just under three hours at Noblesville High School.

The Eagles' No. 1 doubles tandem of Dalton Royal and Preston Shanayda, however, won its match 6-3, 6-3, over Noblesville to advance to the doubles regionals on Saturday, Oct. 14.

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Delta boys tennis team eliminated at Noblesville, No. 1 doubles stays alive

Despite topping Jay County 4-1 in Tuesday's semifinals and leading No. 24 Noblesville 2-0 on Wednesday, Delta couldn't hang on and finished its season 17-6.

It marked the third time in five seasons that the Eagles failed to win a regional trophy after notching seven straight crowns from 2012-18. Yet head coach Tim Cleland and his players left the courts pleased with their performance in a new regional location after dominating the Marion tournament over the previous decade.

"I thought it was a very good season and a great tennis match tonight. The regional championship was 3-2, (most) every court could have gone either way and you don't see that," Cleland said. "We have no complaints about our kids, this season or this match. Nobody's over there at the ticket refund window asking for the money back."

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No. 2 singles Kody Vest gave Delta an early advantage by dominating his opponent 6-0, 6-1, to finish his junior season with a 20-5 record.

With four seniors graduating, Cleland said Vest's performance this season put him in line to be a leader for the Eagles in 2024.

"He had a fantastic year and he does a lot of good things out there," Cleland said. "When Kody Vest believes in himself, he's really, really good. And we've helped him a lot with his confidence this year. He believed most of the year, he really believed today."

Royal and Shanayda soon joined Vest to cheer on the sidelines after sweeping their match 6-3, 6-3. The pair controlled its formidable opponent, handing them their second-largest margin of defeat in 25 season matches to improve to 23-3 and continue building on the strong chemistry that carried the two seniors all season.

Royal, a former All-State doubles player as an underclassman, has thrived in his return to doubles after playing No. 1 singles last season. It's the spot where he feels at his best and most aggressive, and he looked the part all evening.

"I did not want to play singles and I was so happy to play doubles again because I love doubles so much more, and I knew that if I wasn't playing singles that me and my partner could make a run and here we are doing it now," Royal said. "I just love the fast pace of it. With singles, you're the only one out in the court, and I love having someone else there just to bounce ideas off of. It's just really fun."

This year, that someone was Shanayda, a partner Royal had never previously played with.

Cleland said he always trusted in Royal's abilities, but Shanayda's was more of an unknown. Yet the senior quickly acclimated himself to the role, meshed well with Royal and outperformed expectations.

"Preston has played a fantastic season, handling pressure and stepping up to that because, as good of a doubles player as Dalton is, sometimes Preston has to be ready for an assault from the other team, too," Cleland said. "He handled it tonight."

Royal said he and Shanayda are excited to have a couple of days off before competing in the doubles regional, which he said might be "a little weird" without his teammates but exciting because of the chance to continue competing.

Royal hopes he and Shanayda can win the two matches needed to make the state finals, and believes the duo's elite chemistry and relaxed approach will bode well against top competition.

"I love playing with Preston. He's so much fun. And we never get super serious in a match or anything, and his groundstrokes have gotten so much better," Royal said. "We work so well together and we just know exactly what each other is thinking the whole entire time."

After Royal and Shanayda's victory, though, Delta lost ground when the No. 2 doubles tandem of sophomore Aaron Elliott and freshman Tyce Dishman fell 2-6, 4-6, and No. 1 singles senior Simon Marlow lost 5-7, 4-6.

Marlow had a commendable effort against a fiery and talented foe, working a 4-4 tie in both sets.

The deciding match then came down to No. 3 singles, where Jake Bilby battled through several long rallies before eventually falling 1-6, 4-6. It was a solid showing for a senior who'd previously only played doubles before a midseason shift to No. 3 singles, one he admitted to not liking at first.

But before the season, Bilby suffered a dislocated elbow on an overhead swing and wasn't sure if he'd be able to play at all. He wore an elbow brace all year to prevent reinjury, and Cleland moving him to No. 3 singles was also an effort to keep Bilby healthy in a slower-paced style that featured less overhead opportunities.

With such obstacles, Bilby said finishing his final campaign in a competitive effort was an accomplishment in itself.

"I enjoyed it. I knew that I was just going out there, that I was giving it my all and whatever way the match turned out," Bilby said. "Obviously, I would have wanted to win, but I was happy with it either way. I felt like I gave it my all. I thought it was a good way to end my tennis career."

Twelve Eagles won at least one varsity match this season. Cleland is optimistic about the program's chances to continue being a top program in the area, even in its new regional field.

"We've got kids (coming back) and we've got a good eighth-grade group that played well. Our middle school team did a really nice job this year," Cleland said. "So we're gonna keep battling. So yes, we lost some seniors, but we also have some kids that can get the job done."

Yorktown boys tennis' Anson Isaacs breaks postseason drought

After topping Marlow in the sectional final, Isaacs became the first Yorktown boys tennis player since 2016 to advance individually past the team sectional round.

The senior also traveled to Noblesville, where he topped Tipton's best player 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. He then fell in the semifinals on Wednesday, 0-6, 1-6, to Westfeild's No. 1. Still, Isaacs was proud of his accomplishment.

"It's finally good to see all the hard work paid off over the three years I've been playing tennis for the high school team," Isaacs said. "It was just kind of a good feeling to be able to make out of a sectional."

Isaacs finished with an 18-8 record this season 39-34 record for his career.

New Castle boys tennis season ends at Mt. Vernon

New Castle's campaign concluded on Tuesday in its 5-0 semifinal loss to Greenfield-Central at the Mt. Vernon regional.

The Trojans finished the season with a 17-9 record and earned their second straight sectional title.

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on X (platform formerly known as Twitter) @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Delta No. 1 doubles advance, ECI teams lose in boys tennis regionals