PREP BOYS TENNIS: Goshen, Bethany Christian advance to Sectional 40 final with wins
Sep. 29—GOSHEN — Goshen will look for its third-straight boys tennis sectional title, while Bethany Christian will look for its first championship since 2014 after both teams won their semifinal matches Wednesday on the courts at Goshen Junior High School.
The host RedHawks beat Fairfield, 4-1, while the Bruins edged NorthWood, 3-2, to advance to Thursday night's Sectional 40 final. Bethany Christian's record is now 13-7 on the season, while Goshen will bring a 20-0 mark — along with the No. 18 ranking in the state coaches' poll — into the sectional finale. The winner will advance to next week's regional at Concord High School.
"Might need a lot of luck," joked Bethany Christian coach Matt Miller on what it'll take to beat Goshen Thursday. "They've built a super talented program, and they obviously have a super talented group of varsity players right now. ... I think we have to do at the 1-singles and 1-doubles positions, and then hope something breaks somewhere else. It's going to take us playing at our best and us catching them on the right day."
Goshen won the regular season matchup over the Bruins, 5-0, back on Aug. 18.
"I think their lineup is drastically different from when they played us," said Goshen coach Daniel Love of Bethany Christian. "They've mixed it up a little bit after that, and even mixed it up a little bit even more now. So, we know their doubles are pretty tough based on their lineup switch, and we don't know what to expect beyond that. At the end of the day, we say it doesn't matter who we play, but how we play."
GOSHEN 4, FAIRFIELD 1
The four courts that Goshen won Wednesday all came in straight sets, but many of them were competitive.
The quickest victory for the RedHawks came at No. 2 singles, where senior Moses Sawatzky was a 6-2, 6-0 winner over Fairfield junior Cooper LeCount.
"Moses at 2-singles was probably the most dominant," Love said. "Cooper's had some really good wins this year and he's pushed some really good players; players that have also pushed Moses. We know what he's capable of, and he pushed Moses to three sets last year. I thought Moses just came out (Wednesday) and took care of business; came out hitting his targets and executing well."
At No. 3 singles, Goshen junior Isaac Stahly battled some adversity against Fairfield's Seth Yoder. The Falcons senior led the first set, 5-3, before Stahly rattle off four-straight games to win the set, 7-5.
The two would go back-and-forth in the second set as well, with Stahly ultimately winning it, 6-4.
"Isaac had a really slow start," Love said. "He wasn't clicking on all cylinders until he was down 3-5 in the first set, and then he got locked-in for four games in a row and was able to pull that out. That was huge."
Both doubles teams were victorious for Goshen as well. Senior Joel Byler and junior Myles McLaughlin were a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Fairfield seniors Mick Moore and Brandon Kauffman, while junior Moses Kratzer and sophomore Kyan Miller picked up a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Falcon senior Luke Holsopple and junior Luke Mast.
The best match of the night on any court took place at No. 1 singles, as Fairfield sophomore Garrett Stoltzfus and Goshen junior Pi Wellington went a full three sets.
Stoltzfus took control early, winning the first four games of set one before holding on for the 6-4 win. The second set featured Wellington build the early lead before needed six set points to finally put away Stoltzfus, 6-4, forcing a third and decisive set.
In the final set, Wellington built a 4-3 lead before the Falcon sophomore roared back. He'd win the final three games of the match, winning numerous long-rallied points to pull off the victory. Stoltzfus' win advances him to the individual state tournament, which begins next week at the same time as the team regionals are taking place.
"I think Garrett did a nice job of staying aggressive," Fairfield coach Mike Filbrun said. "There aren't a lot of opportunities against Pi, that's for sure. He doesn't give you a lot of balls that you can do much with, but when Garrett had opportunities, he went for them."
Fairfield's season comes to an end with a 14-6 record.
BETHANY CHRISTIAN 3, NORTHWOOD 2
Much like Goshen, the Bruins were able to win at three courts rather efficiently to close out the team victory early.
No. 1 singles was the first to finish, as Bethany sophomore Noah Schrock won 6-0, 6-2 over NorthWood junior Caleb Yoder. The next win was No. 1 doubles, with the all-senior team of Cameron Heinisch and Breece Erickson winning 6-3, 6-0 over the Panther tandem of senior Logan Perry and junior Nic Anderson.
The match-clinching win then came at No. 3 singles, where junior Ian McHugh outlasted NorthWood senior Joe Hahn by a score of 7-5, 6-4.
"Our 3-singles was probably the most impressive of those for me," Matt Miller said. "He has been bouncing back-and-forth from playing doubles and playing singles, so we didn't know how he'd do. ... The three guys who've played the number one positions have been our strongest players all season long. They're our returning varsity guys, so I was glad to see them win."
NorthWood's two wins came of the three-set variety. The No. 2 doubles pairing of junior Wes Newcomer and sophomore Ty Stankovich overcame a bad second set to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 over Bethany junior Tristan Mast and sophomore Emerson Landis.
Panthers freshman Caleb Vincent then closed out the night, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 over Bruins freshman Gideon Miller.
"We played really well in both of those positions," said NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz of her No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles players. "When we (played Bethany Christian) during the regular season, their lineup was different. I think, at first, we thought it might play a little more in-favor for our singles' players, and 3-singles was close. We were right there in the match."
NorthWood's season comes to an end with a 1-16 record.
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SECTIONAL 40 BOYS TENNIS SEMIFINALS — Results
Goshen 4, Fairfield 1
No. 1 singles: Garrett Stoltzfus (F) def. Pi Wellington (G), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
No. 2 singles: Moses Sawatzky (G) def. Cooper LeCount (F), 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 singles: Isaac Stahly (G) def. Seth Yoder (F), 7-5, 6-4
No. 1 doubles: Joel Byler/Myles McLaughlin (G) def. Mick Moore/Brandon Kauffman (F), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 doubles: Kyan Miller/Moses Kratzer (G) def. Luke Holsopple/Luke Mast (F), 6-2, 6-4
Bethany Christian 3, NorthWood 2
No. 1 singles: Noah Schrock (B) def. Caleb Yoder (N), 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 singles: Caleb Vincent (N) def. Gideon Miller (B), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
No. 3 singles: Ian McHugh (B) def. Joe Hahn (N), 7-5, 6-4
No. 1 doubles: Cameron Heinisch/Breece Erickson (B) def. Nic Anderson/Logan Perry (N), 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 doubles: Wes Newcomer/Ty Stankovich (N) def. Emerson Landis/Tristan Mast (B), 6-3, 1-6, 6-0
Austin Hough can be reached at austin.hough@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2360. Follow him on Twitter at @AustinHoughTGN.
