North boys tennis duo Jacob Hafele, Nathan Mitchell has sights set on IHSAA state title
EVANSVILLE — Caleb Heiman didn't expect to have a doubles pair advance to the IHSAA state finals in back-to-back seasons.
But the North High School boys tennis coach did think it was possible.
Prior to Will Cusic and Gabe Wilke punching their tickets to Park Tudor in Indianapolis last season, the last time a Huskies doubles pair appeared in the state finals was in 2011. While they fell short in the quarterfinals to a duo from Carmel, Jacob Hafele and Nathan Mitchell will now take another crack at the title.
The seniors are 14-2 this season and defeated Jeffersonville's top duo in straight sets in the Bedford North Lawrence regional. They will face a pair from Munster in the quarterfinals Friday at 1 p.m. CDT.
Both players embrace the honor of carrying that torch in the Huskies' program.
"I think it's a good new tradition to bring to North," Mitchell said. "It's a good representation going forward for the seasons to come."
"It's really fun being able to compete and continue to play this season," Hafele added. "We weren't expecting to play (Jeffersonville), we thought we would play Terre Haute (South). Jeffersonville was a good team we barely beat, but we got it done."
Hafele and Mitchell have been the Huskies' top doubles pair off-and-on this season. They played half of their matches as No. 1 doubles partners while Mitchell also played No. 1 singles and Hafele was at No. 2 singles for a stretch.
Yet, Heiman felt going into the postseason the players gave North the best opportunity to win at No. 1 doubles. They have different personalities. Hafele, who is a righty, is more of a net player while the lefty Mitchell plays more with power.
"I don't think having two doubles players who are the exact same way is really the best way to go," Heiman said. "I always like to have players who are a little bit different and can complement each other, so I think that's what Nathan and Jacob do so well."
In contrast to Cusic and Wilke, who are calm and collected on the court, Hafele and Mitchell get a little more fired up. They got a chance to watch their predecessors at Park Tudor last year and liked what they saw.
"We've seen what the competition is like up there, and we know it's going to be tough," Mitchell said. "We know we've got to take it one match at a time."
It's been a solid boys tennis season in Southwestern Indiana. Evansville Christian senior Ferdi Bosse had a valiant effort in the singles regional title match in Bedford despite ultimately losing. Jasper also advanced to state as a team last weekend and sat on the doorstep of the championship, losing 3-2 to runner-up Columbus North.
Hafele and Mitchell have a chance to make history. There hasn't been a doubles state champion from Evansville. The last individual champion from the City was Day School's Brian Ritz in 1986. North's first and only tennis state champion was Lee Sublett in 1973.
"It will be really cool to (win the title), especially for me and Nate (and) for our whole school," Hafele said.
Heiman commended the chemistry his top doubles team has displayed throughout this season. He knows opportunities like this come few and far between.
"The inspiration they could bring to our feeder players and future North tennis players would be absolutely amazing," Heiman said. "I think they can make a lot of noise this weekend."
Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville North's Jacob Hafele, Nathan Mitchell make state finals
