Boys tennis sectionals undergo changes

Updated: September 26, 2011 10:13PM

No matter which way it’s cut, this year’s tennis postseason is considerably different than the last. It only takes one glance from 2010‘s brackets to those that comprise this week‘s sectional to notice an array of changes.

Bluntly stated, following the approval at June’s meeting of the IHSAA executive committee, the Association has given the sport one of its most drastic remodels in recent memory. And Northwest Indiana was right in the heat of it all.

Following last year’s Sectional which had eight locations, many schools around the area have been jumbled around. The number of the sectionals falls to six, with the Highland and East Chicago sites no longer hosting and other places like River Forest jumping up in numbers (going from two schools to five).

And the tweaks don’t stop there. On the NWI regional front two of the feeder sectionals move over from Portage’s Regional to Munster’s, to make room for (no. 12) Penn and SB Clay. Quite telling will be the addition of the Carmel Sectional winner to the Kokomo Regional. Both of the local regional winners now head to the Culver Academies Semi State (instead of the South Bend Clay Semistate, which was at Leeper Park) to face the winners of both the Culver and the Kokomo regionals. Which means, hypothetically, making it to state could include a chance at facing no. 1 ranked Carmel (who’s the defending champion and rolled 5-0 over Munster in the final four last season). Of course, that‘s a mere speculation before the matches take place.

One thing needing little to no speculation, however, is that the region’s coaches have definite opinions. Some are thrilled by new opportunities, while others point to a hidden agenda.

Munster coach Steve Lopez is part of that latter category. In fact the 10-year coach and former Morton singles player came right out with his notion that it’s another opportunity to get more Indianapolis area schools into the final four.

“There is no reason in hell that I can think of, why you would send teams so far out of the way to other teams in this tournament; when you have to take care of teams in your area,” Lopez said before referencing the West Lafayette Sectional winner‘s new destination: the Kokomo Regional. Whoever wins that sectional is looking at over an hour of drive time.

“That’s the nature of the beast, that in the state tournament, you have to be the best of your area to get out,” he said.

Of course while Lopez is surely looking a bit further down the road, hoping to make a fourth consecutive trip to the final four, other coaches like Lake Central’s Eric Stark embrace the change. This year the Indians moved out of the host dominated Munster sectional and into the Crown Point Sectional. While the Bulldogs have won four straight crowns, history has been much kinder to LC. Aside from the recent 4-1 DAC win for CP, the Indians often have their number (including a 5-0 win last year).

“I understand it and I’m OK with it, because it gets us out of the Munster Sectional; In fact I don’t mind it at all,” said Stark, who played on the last LC club to win a sectional, in 2003 at Highland, said. “It reminds me of back when I was playing; anyone can beat anyone, on any given day, in our sectional.”

Valparaiso coach Tim Shideler seems to fair in the middle. Either way, according to Shideler, getting out of the Portage regional would be difficult. But, he doesn’t quite agree with the spread out nature either.

“I would say that the pool of competition, getting both of the South Bend winners to come our way makes it harder, yes. But, whoever wins our sectional is always challenged in the regional. I don’t know if it matters a whole lot,” he said.

“There must be some good logic, it’s just hard from our perspective to see why we’re not playing schools in our area I guess.”

For a school like River Forest the new changes offer more opportunity for pride. Sure the Ingots have won nine straight sectionals, but in instances like last year, the marks come from one area’s smallest tournament. Although it’s his first year coaching the squad, Beau Bruemmer had larger-scale postseason experiences in his days on the late 90’s Michigan City boys team. Bruemmer likes that legitimacy that comes with the additions.

“It’s one thing that I told my boys, it’s definitely positive,” he said. “No longer is it a cupcake sectional, but it’s a legit sectional. And they’ll get some recognition if they win.

While many theories have surfaced, IHSAA commissioner Bobby Cox asserts that Theresia Wynns (assistant commissioner, who overseas boys and girls tennis) and the panel of coaches she consulted, from various parts of the state, were trying to maintain a level of balance when they drew up the plans. Realignment will also go into affect for the girls season, but won’t be as drastic, since there are less teams then.

Individual sports, like tennis, don’t get overhauled as regularly as say basketball or football. But when the switch to an eight-team state tournament was made, Cox said that a more serious look to realignment arose.

“We’re trying to make it really as easy as possible on the membership, in some cases that’s a really tough equation to solve,” said Cox of the alignment. “It’s quite a little puzzle to figure out and to try to make that tournament as equitable as you can across all of the sectionals, regionals, and semis states.

Cox is cognizant of the mixed emotions towards the situation.

“The reality of it is when you build a tournament, there’s going to be supporters and there’s going to be detractors … everyone is going to look at the situation from their own local perspective,” he said.

“I just say a lot of the times that you just have to get better; if they’re good enough they’re going to get to state.”

Lopez knew of plans to redistrict, but the level of changes came as a shock.

“It’s a slap in the face to the coaches, there was no input, there was no votes there was no discussion; it just came to many of coaches’ surprise,” he said.

According to Cox the new format is here for a while, at least.

“I think we’ll look at this alignment for the next three to five years and see how it goes,” he said.

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