On Tuesday, Sioux Falls Christian made history by winning their first ever boys state tennis championship. For first year head coach John Williams, he’s ecstatic with how his squad played in the event.
“The boys just did great. Yesterday, they all did wonderful. Today, they needed to compete, and they did that I’m so proud of these guy’s,” stated Williams. They did awesome today and did what needed to be done.”
On paper, the Chargers only won two flights. Junior Jadon Munson won Singles Flight 4 and then he teamed with senior Collin Harmelink to win Doubles Flight 2. It was the consistency throughout the rest of the flights, points by getting third place and in the consolation bracket, that helped Sioux Falls Christian achieve the top score.
“Everybody played well and just the depth of the team, we’ve got a lot of guys graduating this year, so we’re really going to be looking to those junior varsity players to play a lot over the summer and offseason to get ready for next year,” Williams explained. “These guys have worked very hard this season, played a lot of matches and traveled to a lot of places to play against really good competition.”
The Chargers will graduate five seniors this spring – Dylan Aukes, Collin Harmelink, Gavin Mulder, Easton Prins, and Jackson Woodward. Most coaches will tell you, they lean heavily on their seniors and have a special bond with them. It’s a little unique with John Williams, though, as this was his inaugural year with the program. He credits his assistant coaches for the development of this year’s senior class.
“These are the boys that Matt Westenberg and Rollie Woodward started this program with, and they handed to me a team that was a well-oiled machine. They got these guys to where they are. It was in good hands before I came on board,” said Williams.
A morning drizzle forced Tuesday’s action to be moved indoors to the Huether Family Match Pointe facility in northern Sioux Falls. Because of the familiarity with the facility, Williams said this helped his players stay locked-in when the schedule got modified.
“A lot of these guys play tournaments in the summer or in the off-season, so they’re use to being out here,” stated Williams. “They did a good job of just staying focused, being aggressive, consistent, and energetic.”
While Sioux Falls Christian placed first with 455.5 points, Yankton took second with 378.5, Huron followed closely in third at 367.5, and then Mitchell came in at fourth with 399. Both Lennox and Pierre TF Riggs tied for fifth with 259.5 points.
The 2021 ‘AA’ boys state tennis tournament will begin in Sioux Falls this coming Thursday. Sioux Falls Lincoln has won the past six state championships in the top class. Last year’s spring boys tennis tournament, which would have been the first in the two-class system, was canceled due to COVID-19.
For complete results of the 2021 'A' boys tennis championships, click here.
