JACKSONVILLE - Jersey's Dax Goetten qualified for the state boys tennis tournament in singles, while the doubles team of Jaxon Brunaugh and Issac Wargo went through in doubles as the Panthers won the IHSA Class 1A sectional tournament over the weekend at Jacksonville High.
The Jersey tennis boys are Sparklight Male Athletes of the Month.
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The Panthers won with 25 points, with Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin Catholic coming in second with 21 points, Quincy Notre Dame Catholic was third at 20 points, the host Crimsons were fourth at 16 points, Marquette Catholic finished fifth with eight points, and had no state qualifiers, Hillsboro was sixth with six points, Bunker Hill came in seventh with four points, Rochester was eighth with two points, and Lincoln failed to score, and finished in ninth place.
The semifinalists in both singles and doubles qualified for state, and Goetten won his quarterfinal match over Adam Smith of QND to qualify for state 6-1, 6-1, In the semifinal, Goetten defeated Mark Mattson of Hillsboro 6-2, 6-2, then won the final over Cole Nebel of Jacksonville 6-1, 6-1. The other qualifiers for state were Nebel, Mattson, and Kaden Smith of SH-G. Robert Allen of Marquette lost his quarterfinal match to Mattson 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 and was eliminated.
In the doubles, Brunaugh and Wargo won their quarterfinal match over Sam Luker and Cameron Duke of the Cyclones 6-1, 6-4, but lost in the semifinals to Daniel Dyer and Alex Strong of the Raiders 6-1, 6-0, and bounced back in the third place match to win over Colin Knollhoff and Bennett Karr of Jacksonville 6-4, 6-4.
The other qualifiers in doubles were Evan Aleman and Adam Wheeling of SH-G, Dyer and Strong, and Knollhoff and Karr. Adam Richard and Oliver Stephenson of Marquette lost their quarterfinal match to Dyer and Strong 6-1, 6-2, and were eliminated.
"Huge congratulations to the JCHS Boys Tennis Team for bringing home the Sectional Championship," Jersey Community School District said in a statement about the boys. "Your hard work, determination, and team spirit paid off on the court — we’re so proud of you!"
The qualifiers will compete in the IHSA state tournament this weekend, May 29-31, at Palatine High School and other venues in the northwest suburban Chicago area.
