FORTVILLE — New Palestine repeated the outcome — which is all that matters in the postseason — but not the shutout in its rematch with New Castle in the Mt. Vernon Boys Tennis Regional Tuesday.
The Dragons (17-3) had beaten the Trojans 5-0 in mid-September in a regular season Hoosier Heritage Conference match, but Tuesday’s postseason rematch was as close as it can be in the five-point team-scoring system.
The Dragons swept doubles, but won just one of three singles matches in a 3-2 victory in one of two regional semifinals at Mt. Vernon High School.
In the other semifinal, No. 21 Fishers defeated Centerville 5-0.
The Dragons and Tigers will meet Wednesday at 5 p.m. for the regional championship.
In the regular season match, New Palestine dominated doubles play and won three close singles matches.
New Castle turned the tables at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but New Palestine’s No. 3 Brady Torzewski came through with the clincher — as he did in a 3-2 sectional championship victory last week over Mt. Vernon.
Not as dramatic as last week’s win, which came with the team score tied 2-2, Torzewski’s win gave the Dragons a 3-0 lead.
“He deals well with the pressure,” New Palestine assistant coach Clint Rush said. “He’s used to it. He’s been in plenty of pressure situations that he’s come through many, many times for our team.”
“I think he’s back in form,” Dragons head coach Jean Graham said. “I think his ankle is feeling better now and he’s playing like he did last year [when he went unbeaten at No. 3 singles]. He went through a little bit of slump after he twisted his ankle in the Shelbyville match.”
As they did in the first New Pal-New Castle meeting, the Dragons doubles teams made quick work of the Trojan tandems.
At No. 1 doubles, Moses Haynes and Max Havel defeated Cameron Hastings and Cormac Stillwell 6-0, 6-0. The Dragons had beaten them 6-0, 6-1 in the regular season.
At No. 2 doubles, New Palestine’s Andrew Hahn and Carson Rush beat Dylan Blackford and Trenton Boughton 6-3, 6-1. It was just a little closer than the 6-0, 6-2 outcome in the initial meeting.
Up 2-0, the Dragons needed just one singles player to come through.
Torzewski who had the tightest match of all in the regular-season meeting, came through with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Matt Hastings.
In the September match, Torzewski needed three sets in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
He jumped out early this time, and after Matt Hastings led 3-2 in the second, Torzewski finished it off with the last four games.
“The last time [I played Hastings] I came out slow. This time I knew what to expect,” Torzewski said. “My forehand wasn’t doing what it needed to be doing [the first time] but it came together in the second and third set.
“[Today he was] up 3-2, and I was able to win four games in a row. It’s nice to be a key part in the last three matches.”
No. 1 singles player Arjomand Khokhar and No. 2 Joey McPike lost Tuesday.
McPike beat Vincent Farris 6-4, 6-3 last month, but it was Farris with the 6-3, 6-4 win Tuesday to give New Castle its first win.
With a spot in the individual tournament on the line for New Castle’s Leo Underhill, the senior beat Khokhar 6-1, 6-4, avenging a 6-3, 6-4 loss.
“Both [Khokhar and McPike] are capable of coming back strong [against Fishers],” Graham said.
“It’s a step forward for our program that we’re getting up here and competing,” she added on her team’s advancement to the regional championship match. “I think Hancock County tennis, in general, is improving. Certainly for us, this is a big step. If we play our game, I think we can really compete with Fishers, but we have to bring our A game.”
In the individual sectional tournament, Greenfield-Central’s Nathan Roberts won a battle of county rivals with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Eastern Hancock’s Luke Zeilinga.
Roberts will play Wednesday against the No. 1 singles player from Blue River Valley High School. The winner of that match will face Underhill in the next round of the sectional individual tournament later this week.
