FORTVILLE — After two years of frustration, the New Palestine Dragons are finally back on top.
Prior to the past two seasons, the New Palestine boys tennis program had ruled supreme, winning seven consecutive team sectional titles from 2012-18. The Dragons had also netted nine straight Hancock County team trophies from 2010-18.
On Friday night, they resumed their place as champions, once again, defeating rival and host Mt. Vernon, 4-1, in the Sectional 47 finals.
However, the team scores were merely the result of the Dragons’ nearly 730-day redemption journey.
First came the reunion, as senior No. 2 singles player Colin Darley rejoined the team after a one-year hiatus to protect the health of his brother, Trevor, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next, came the summer workouts and training in preparation for their hopeful ascension.
Finally, there was the water-cooler shower that the Dragons happily gave head coach Jean Graham before they boarded their bus after completing the tennis sweep by winning both the county and sectional titles this season.
“It’s great to be a county champ and now a sectional champ. We’re 18-3. We’re looking forward to the regional,” Graham said. “I think it’s safe to say, they’re the best team in the county. They’ve beaten every other county team, at least once, and sometimes twice.”
En route to their 18th sectional title since 1992, the Dragons defeated every county foe this fall, including Eastern Hancock twice — in the regular season and in the sectional semifinals — and Mt. Vernon two times in the past week.
New Palestine swept Mt. Vernon, 5-0, on Friday, Sept. 24, and with the exception of Marauders’ sophomore Adam Koon besting Dragons’ senior Ezra Schwier, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2, at No. 1 singles, the Dragons proved difficult to beat.
“We started this as freshmen, and these boys worked and worked,” Graham said. “They stayed with the program, and I have 12 seniors. I’m going to miss them. I’m really proud of them.”
The Dragons’ doubles teams secured the team’s first two points.
Freshman Moses Haynes and senior Devon Bird defeated Marauders’ Brady Pearson and Matthew Jones, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles before seniors Clayton Wesley and Jackson Havel won 6-4, 6-0, over Isaac Damer and Brock Barr at one doubles.
From there, the Dragons’ senior singles locked down the match before the conclusion of the Schwier and Koon three-set, marathon tug-of-war.
Darley beat freshman Manny Downs in three sets 7-6 (5), 6-0, 7-6 (4) at No. 2 singles, and senior Zach Au prevailed 6-1, 6-2 over sophomore Robbie Moore at No. 3 singles.
“Trevor is Colin’s brother, and he had severe cancer. So, Colin sat out the whole year (in 2020), so he wouldn’t bring COVID home to him. He gave up cross country and he gave up tennis. We really missed him,” Graham said.
“He was our No. 2, and then we got hit by all the COVID contact tracing. We’re ready to go to a match, and then I would lose two of my varsity players. That hurt. It was difficult last year. Colin was the missing puzzle piece.”
Au, much like Schwier, has been a workhorse. Au won his 15th consecutive match on Friday to give the Dragons an eighth-straight win and a chance to update the program’s title board at their home courts.
“This is really special. We had a long county and sectional streak, and we lost it two years ago when I was a sophomore. To have it back, now that I’m a senior, after working so hard for all these years, it feels good. It feels really good,” Au said.
“It was tough (these past two years). We knew we weren’t going to be the best when we lost all of our past seniors, but we didn’t expect it to be so unsuccessful, but this is our season. We came out and won county. We won sectional.”
The biggest step was taken this summer as the team honed their skills at the McMullen Tennis Academy with Mt. Vernon assistant coach Graham McMullen.
Learning from McMullen, the Dragons jelled and thrived from the start of the 2021 campaign with their focus on reclaiming their tennis prominence.
“The amount of time and effort we put in to this season, it’s unbelievable to be here. We definitely deserve this. To us, tennis isn’t just a game, it’s a lifestyle,” Wesley said. “I think (the summer) really gave us a head start, and it really got us to the point where we are now. Graham McMullen was a huge help. I don’t think we could have done it without him and our coaching staff, too. They’re all amazing.”
The evening’s longest-lasting match was equally as impressive as both Schwier and Koon tested each others’ skill and endurance.
Koon won the first set before a more than two-hour second. In the third, Koon made his push and won to advance as an individual in the IHSAA state tournament.
“I was kind of nervous. Had a lot of Oreos before the match. Honestly, that’s the key. Oreos and Graham McMullen,” Koon said. “Graham told me what to do. I hope I executed it well for him, and I think I did.”
Koon improved his season record to 16-6 with the win after losing to Schwier prior, including in this year’s county finals.
“It’s a huge step as a sophomore. We’ll see what happens. Yeah, I’m going to have a lot of Oreos before that (individual state match next week),” Koon said.
“Ezra is a great player. He’s going to play in college somewhere, and he’s had a great career. I was nervous coming into this one. Choked the second set. Choked on it like it was an Oreo, but I came back and I just played better. I dunked the Oreo.”
Though, Koon won the match, the Dragons seized the trophy and their place in program history.
“I kind of felt some relief when I saw the other three teams finish, but obviously, I still wanted to get the win, but the way Adam was playing, he really deserved to get that win,” Schwier said.
“It’s a great feeling. As we’ve said before, this has been our main goal and for me, it feels like a weight has lifted off my shoulders. We felt a lot of pressure coming in tonight because of how Mt. Vernon has been playing this week, but the guys stepped up big. They played their best and that’s all we were trying to do.”
2021 Mt. Vernon Boys Tennis Sectional
Tournament Results
Quarterfinals
Mt. Vernon 3, Greenfield-Central 2
No. 1 Singles: Adam Koon, MV def. Matthew Hyre, G-C (6-3, 6-1)
No. 2 Singles: Manny Downs, MV def. Chris Long, G-C (6-4, 2-6, 6-2)
No. 3 Singles: CJ Michalek, G-C def. Robbie Moore, MV (2-6, 7-5, 6-2)
No. 1 Doubles: Jackson Weinder/Corbin Tilley, G-C def. Isaac Damer/Brock Barr, MV (6-0, 6-2)
No. 2 Doubles: Brady Pearson/Matthew Jones, MV def. Tyler White/Casey Hunt, G-C (6-1, 6-4)
Semifinals
New Palestine 4, Eastern Hancock 1
No. 1 Singles: Ezra Schwier, NP def. Zeke Dixon, EH (6-2, 6-0)
No. 2 Singles: Colin Darley, NP def. Nolan Stout, EH (6-1, 6-2)
No. 3 Singles: Zach Au, NP def. Luke Schilling, EH (6-0, 6-0)
No. 1 Doubles: Bryce Wennen/Wyatt Sutton, EH def. Clayton Wesley/Jackson Havel, NP (6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-4)
No. 2 Doubles: Moses Haynes/Devon Bird, NP def. Peyton Stephens/Myles Wennen, EH (6-3, 6-1)
Mt. Vernon 3, Pendleton Heights 2
No. 1 Singles: Adam Koon, MV def. Samuel Bowers, PH (6-2, 6-4)
No. 2 Singles: Manny Downs, MV def. Ryland Mills, PH (6-2, 6-0)
No. 3 Singles: Robbie Moore, MV def. Austin Perny, PH (6-4, 6-2)
No. 1 Doubles: Blake Stoker/Logan Jones, PH def. Isaac Damer/Brock Barr, MV (6-1, 7-5)
No. 2 Doubles: Richard Nielsen/Cole Bubenzer, PH def. Brady Pearson/Matthew Jones, MV (1-6, 6-1, 6-1)
Championship Finals
New Palestine 4, Mt. Vernon 1
No. 1 Singles: Adam Koon, MV def. Ezra Schwier, NP (7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2)
No. 2 Singles: Colin Darley, NP def. Manny Downs, MV (7-6 (5), 0-6, 7-6 (4))
No. 3 Singles: Zach Au, NP def. Robbie Moore, MV (6-1, 6-2)
No. 1 Doubles: Clayton Wesley/Jackson Havel, NP def. Isaac Damer/Brock Barr, MV (6-4, 6-0)
No. 2 Doubles: Moses Haynes/Devon Bird, NP def. Brady Pearson/Matthew Jones, MV (6-0, 6-2)
