Argylls claim first tennis sectional championship

Sep. 30—MARION — For months, Christopher Fox and his Madison-Grant teammates have put in extra hours on the tennis courts, often well past dark and often forcing coach Tony Pitt to send them home.

"This is a goal they've set from Day 1. This is our year for sectional," Pitt said. "Yesterday when we got back from the Mississinewa match, I had to turn the lights on for them, and they just love each other. This group has been together forever. ... They just love the competition and to push each other."

Thursday evening, that extra effort bore fruit as Fox reversed a regular-season loss, and the Argylls swept past Marion 5-0 to claim the school's first tennis sectional championship.

The Argylls won the title in near-perfect fashion, sweeping defending champion Mississinewa 5-0 a day before rolling past a Giants program that has amassed 32 sectional championships in its program's storied history. Mississinewa and Marion have combined to win the last 14 titles in this sectional.

"I just love the fight these kids have," Pitt said. "This is the first time going into a sectional final that I wasn't nervous. It's just a testament of the kids and how they handled things yesterday, and I knew they would do the same today."

The tone was set early by Fox when he jumped ahead 3-0 in his No. 2 singles match against Elijah Maki. The Giants' player won the next two games, but otherwise, Fox was in control throughout in a 6-3, 6-2 win.

The M-G players fed off each other's energy as they saw Fox's fast start as well as a quick one-set lead in both doubles matches.

Soren Price and Davin Barton are M-G's only seniors, and they comprise their No. 2 doubles team. They put the first point on the board with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Dylan Schuh and Gabe Clark while Ben Pax and Brogan Brunt were nearly as efficient at No. 1 doubles in taking a 6-2, 6-2 win over Todd Pederson and Daniel Terhune.

From there, the rout was on.

"It's a true team atmosphere with these kids, and it's great to see," Pitt said.

While Fox and No. 1 singles player Luke Gilman were still playing, it was Clayton Hull at No. 3 singles who scored the clinching point after posting a convincing 6-0, 6-1 win over Ryan Spitzer.

"We made sure to bring the energy and lift each other up the whole time," Hull said. "Doubles yelling, singles yelling, back and forth, we made sure to keep each other up."

After Fox closed out Maki for the 4-0 lead, the team gathered near Court 1 where Gilman was in a battle with Ryan Sebastian. The Giants' No. 1 player had controlled the first set 6-2, but Gilman bounced back 6-4 in the second to even the match and force a third.

Knowing the team result was already decided took the pressure off Gilman to finish the sweep.

"Winning that second set just gave me a big boost of energy, and seeing everyone win made me happy for them," he said. "I knew that my match meant a lot even though we already won sectional. ... There was a lot on the line, but the pressure was off because I knew I was moving on."

Holding the trophy after the matches made the extra work, the late nights and inconveniencing their coach well worth it.

"It was the next step, like coach said" Fox said. "It means a lot for everyone to come out here and give it their all. We went 3-2 with Marion earlier this year, and sweeping them tonight feels so good."

The regional semifinal opponent for the Argylls will be the winner of Friday's Anderson sectional championship between Lapel and Frankton.

The Argylls make no bones about who they would like to see in that first matchup — the team that knocked them off in the Madison County semifinals.

"We know Frankton is a nice team. We've played twice and had some good battles," Pitt said. "If it is Frankton, hopefully, we'll be ready for that challenge. We have four losses this year, and it would be nice to have another crack at Lapel."

The regional will also be played on Marion's courts with the winners from Delta and Jay County comprising the second semifinal. Both semifinal matches will be played Tuesday with the championship match slated for Wednesday.

Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.