Jim Copes | PHOTO

What a resume for the Tecumseh tennis team this season. They won the Clark County Championship earlier in the season, they won the CBC Tournament, won the CBC title for the second consecutive year, and for the first time in over a decade, the Arrows are sending someone to the district tournament tomorrow at Centerville High School.

Singles player Mitchell Foland along with the doubles team of Allen Eben and Will Sims will represent the Arrows in tomorrow’s district tournament. For coach Sean Bragg, the last two years has shown the hard work of these young men and growth of the program.

“It’s amazing, it feels like we have really built a good program,” he said. “Last year we won our first conference title in a very long time, and we lost our top two players heading into this year. I didn’t know what to expect.”

“In the CBC tournament, we had to win the last court to win the title. To pull that out was amazing. Two years in a row is a shock.”

Conference matches throughout the year earn one point, and matches in the CBC tournament are worth two points. Tecumseh trailed going into the tournament due to a 7-1 record in CBC play, while Urbana was 8-0. The Arrows used strong play and success in the tournament to escape with a 23-22 victory over the Hillclimbers for the championship.

“The guys knew that had to step up,” Bragg said. “I had five seniors this year and they were talking about winning the conference. They wanted it so bad.”

The tournament came down to the second doubles team of Tyler Adams and Sam Mukley and if they won their match, they would push ahead of Urbana.

“If they lost, we would share or maybe even lost the title,” Bragg said. “They were playing Tipp and the guys had no idea what the match meant. I waited to tell them what happened after the match. When they came over to me, I told them we just won the CBC title and we all started celebrating.”

Winning the league last year was great for the program, but Bragg knew what it would take for the Arrows to repeat.

“Once you elevate to that level, you keep rising to the occasion,” he said. “It’s getting everyone on the same page, making it fun and wanting to win. We don’t want to question the key to our success, we just wanted to compete and be the best in the conference.”

The Arrows saw success from each of their guys this year, and Bragg talked about what made this team so special.

“At first singles, Mitchell Foland moved up from third singles to first singles, and knew that every match would be difficult,” Bragg said about his all conference player. “He comes from a tennis background and really rose to the occasion.”

Michael Green was 7-1 in the league at second singles, and Bragg knew what propelled him to the wins.

“He just finds a way to win,” he said. “Sometimes he may not be the best guy out there at the beginning of the match, but his athleticism and drive leads him through the entire match.”

At third singles was Anton Brehmer, who learned on the fly according to Bragg.

“He is a foreign exchange student who will be going back to Germany this summer,” Bragg said. “Anton came in with no tennis background and just picked up the sport. He adjusted quickly and went 6-2 in the league.”

One of the biggest keys to the success of the Arrows was first doubles team of Sims and Eben.

“They played together last year and was all-conference, and went undefeated this year in the league at 8-0,” Bragg said of his doubles team who again this year was named all-conference. “They are the best doubles team I have ever coached. They know one another and have a feel where they are going to go. The two guys play different styles but mesh well together.”

At second doubles, Adams and Mulkey played together for the first time this season, but according to Bragg, were the backbone of the team by getting some big wins which were some of the deciding matches in their wins.

“Next year we have a target on our backs and are only bringing back two spots, but we have good confidence in our JV team to keep our success going,” Bragg said.

First Group 2x2
First Group 2x2
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