Long the standard bearer for boys tennis in northeast Indiana, Homestead asserted its dominance on the region once again in 2023 by winning its 23rd semistate championship.
The boys tennis season opens Saturday. The Spartans will look to make it two dozen trips to state this fall, with sectionals slated to start Oct. 1 and the 58th Istate finals scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 18-19.
Players
Eric Ji, Homestead: As a sophomore last year, Ji and senior Alex Graber were the first team doubles pairing on the All-State list and won the individual doubles state championship.
Jaxon Sparks, Carroll: As a junior, Sparks was part of the All-State second team with Conner Gibson and reached the individual doubles state semifinals.
Ettore Bona, East Noble: The junior finished 17-4 a season ago, including 4-1 in the individual singles state tournament, earning All-State honorable mention honors.
Drew Ryser, Warsaw: Ryser advanced to the individual doubles regional finals, where he and Khareus Miller bowed out to Carroll’s Gibson and Sparks.
Andrew Jamison, Carroll: Jamison earned All-District singles honors as a sophomore.
Teams
Homestead: The Spartans return four varsity starters from a squad that finished 18-3 and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Leo: The Lions swept their way through Concordia and Westview last year while winning the school’s third regional championship (2015, 2016) despite being unranked in the final IHSTECA boys district rankings.
Huntington North: The Vikings, one of four sectional champions out of the Northeast 8 (Leo, Norwell, East Noble), edged Peru 3-2 to earn a berth in the regional finals against Homestead last season.
Warsaw: A traditional power in boys tennis, the Tigers rank second in the region in sectional titles with 34 after winning its sectional last fall.
Concordia: The Cadets used a pair of 5-0 sweeps to win their third straight sectional title last year, the 16th in school history.
Storylines
Making another run: Easily the area leader in semistate championships with 23, Homestead is seeking its third straight appearance in the state finals, which would mark the fourth time the Spartans accomplished that feat (1979-81, 1984-86, 1992-97).
Tigers on top: After winning nine straight sectionals from 2012-20, Warsaw uncharacteristically failed to advance to regionals in the postseason two straight years before winning its own sectional last year. The Tigers will seek to turn that title into another streak.
Shuffling the deck: Despite losing six seniors from a team that set a school record for wins, East Noble saw its postseason path shuffled thanks to IHSAA reclassification last year, and the Knights took advantage to win their first sectional title since 2014.
Big schools, big teams: Carroll and Homestead, the region’s two largest schools, could extend their streak to a decade of finishing the season ranked in the top three in District 2. The last time either school finished lower than third was 2013, when the Spartans ranked No. 2 and the Chargers finished fourth.
Looking to step up: Outside of Homestead, just two other Allen County schools have won a semistate title in boys tennis – Canterbury (2010, 2012) and Leo (2015). The Spartans rank second statewide in semistate titles, six behind 29-time champion North Central.
