Four the CS8: Noah Williams, Springfield High get fourth straight conference tennis title
Springfield High did it again.
The Senators captured their fourth straight Central State Eight Conference boys tennis title on Saturday afternoon at the Velasco Tennis Center in Washington Park. Springfield took home the singles and doubles titles and ended with 31½ points.
Here are four takeaways from Saturday’s tournament:
Williams completes historic run
With some ripping groundstrokes, Springfield senior Noah Williams became a four-time CS8 champion after beating Rochester’s Paxton Garland-Sutter 6-3, 6-1 in the title match of the singles draw. Williams didn’t lose a game until the final, winning 6-0, 6-0 in his first three matches.
“I was kind of upset; I know that Paxton is a really good player,” said Williams when asked about finally losing a game. “I have to up my game and Paxton played a good match, even though I wasn’t playing the best.”
Williams returned to the singles draw this season after playing doubles with graduate David Lu and the duo claimed the CS8 doubles title in his sophomore and junior seasons. Williams won the singles title as a freshman, beating Normal U-High graduate Abhay Hiredesai in 2021.
“I didn’t get much singles play the last two years because I played doubles,” Williams said. “To come out here and play singles this past year, it feels good to win conference. I don’t know how often it’s been done. It feels special; I’ve worked hard to improve my game, so it feels good to win four years in a row.”
Instead of playing in the Class 1A postseason like they have the previous three seasons, the Senators were bumped to Class 2A and will travel to the O’Fallon Sectional on May 17-18.
“I’m really excited for sectionals,” Williams said. “It’s our first year in 2A, so I’m waiting to see who the other players are because we haven’t seen much of them in the past three years.”
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Garland-Sutter feeling fine
Despite losing in the title match to Williams, Garland-Sutter showed some game. The third-seeded senior — playing in his first CS8 title match — knocked off No. 2 seed Ubaydah Mahmood of Chatham Glenwood 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals.
“It was a really good experience,” Garland-Sutter said of playing in the final. “Noah’s a really good player; he’s fun to play. I’m glad I got some games, and I tried my best.
"I’ve had some tough matches in conference and I’m glad I broke through it this time. I’ve got sectionals next week, so I’m preparing for that, for sure. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
It was also Garland-Sutter's first win against Mahmood this season.
“I played (Mahmood) a few times this year and lost both in some really close matches,” he said. “I’m glad I was able to stay confident and stay composed throughout the whole match and come away with the win.”
Springfield doubles seals title
Krish Khurana and James Oh played a crucial role in Springfield’s title run. It was up to the top-seeded doubles team to bring home another title for the Senators.
Khurana and Oh — playing as a tandem all season — defeated No. 2 Luke Harvey and Evan Aleman of Sacred Heart-Griffin 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the championship match. The Senators had an equally tough match in the semifinals, posting a 7-6 (8), 6-3 win over Glenwood’s Talha Arshad and Will Ehrlich, the third seed.
Khurana described their play.
“Rocky,” he said. “We both know for sectionals we’re going to need to clean up a little bit for that but we’re going to be ready by then.”
The Senators fell behind 4-1 in the second set against Harvey and Aleman before rallying for the win.
“We need to win the first set and keep our foot on the gas,” Khurana said.
Oh then chimed in.
“When we start getting into the groove, then we’re in the groove,” he said.
Before this campaign, Khurana played singles in 2022-23 and won the CS8 title by beating Mahmood in the final last season. Oh also played singles and is appreciative of his newfound success in doubles. The pair goes into sectionals with an undefeated mark.
“It feels like Kyrie (Irving) and LeBron (James),” Oh said with laughter. “We do butt heads sometimes, but we always get back into the groove. Last year, I got eliminated early (in singles), but it just feels great.
“Hopefully, we can keep that going.”
Khurana said: “I won conference last year in singles so to go back-to-back it feels good. I now know how Noah (Williams) and David (Lu) feel.”
Meanwhile, SHG got some much-needed points from Harvey and Aleman. The pair cruised into the semifinals and recorded a 6-3, 6-3 victory over No. 4 seed Chase Boester and Yajath Narra of Normal U-High.
Harvey and graduate Jeff Wernsing finished second in the CS8 in 2023 until Harvey teamed with Aleman this season.
“Evan and I have been playing doubles mainly all year and we’ve had some solid tournaments and fun matches,” Harvey said.
The SHG team had just lost to Khurana and Oh 6-2, 6-4 in a dual meet on Tuesday.
“Tuesday was our first time ever playing them,” Harvey said. “I guess we didn’t really know what to expect — it was their senior night. We had a little bit of jitters, but in conference you got to play big.”
Giving up a 4-1 lead in the second set against Springfield was a learning experience for Aleman.
“Sometimes when you’re up against some guys who are definitely tough opponents, you think it might be time to let off the gas,” Aleman said. “We shouldn’t have done that, and we took it to them, but you’ve got to put them away.”
SHG is hosting a Class 1A sectional.
“We’re going to bring the heat then and hopefully get first place, that’s what I want,” Aleman said.
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Logjam at the top
After Friday’s action, Glenwood led the team standings with 24 points and SHG was second with 23. Springfield sat in third place with 22.
With the Senators taking over on Saturday, Glenwood hung in and was able to take both third-place matches in singles and doubles to finish second with 27½ points. Mahmood defeated fourth seed Adam Wheeling of SHG 7-6 (6), 6-4, while Arshad and Ehrlich took out Boester and Narra 6-2, 6-3.
SHG finished third with 26 points, followed by U-High (16), Jacksonville (14), Lincoln (10) and Rochester (9). Southeast and Decatur MacArthur did not score.
Contact Trevor Lawrence: 217-788-1548 or trevor.lawrence@sj-r.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield High boys tennis captures Central State Eight title
