The Eagles played three strong teams in the Fort Wayne Carroll Invitational on Saturday and came up a few points short of having a great day.

They lost 4-1 to 23rd-ranked Cathedral in the opening round.  The Eagles won at No. 1 doubles with Ben Miller and Brady Williams and were competitive at most other positions despite playing without top singles player Kody Vest (sore knees) and doubles player Tyce Dishman (returning from broken hand).

In round two, Vest and Dishman returned to action and the Eagles defeated a solid DeKalb team 4-1.  Owen Cupp won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles.  Luke Atkinson trailed 1-4 in the opening set before rattling off 11 straight games to win 6-4, 6-0 at No. 3 singles.  And both doubles teams (Miller/Williams and Dishman/Aaron Elliott) won 6-1, 6-0.

In round three, Delta and Fort Wayne Canterbury locked horns in a tight match for the second year in a row.  Canterbury, riding the experience of six seniors among the seven varsity players, pulled out a 3-2 victory by winning two tiebreaks at No. 1 doubles and another tiebreak at No. 3 singles as well as a 7-5 set at No. 1 singles.  Overall in the match, Delta won 53 games while Canterbury won 46 games, but the Cavaliers still pulled out a narrow team victory and snapped a three-year losing streak to Delta.

Cupp won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles and Dishman/Elliott won 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2 doubles.  Vest competed well against Roshen Kulkarni, one of the best players in Fort Wayne.  In the end, the hard-hitting Kulkarni won 7-5,, 6-3.  At No. 1 doubles, Canterbury seniors Christian Urberg and Ronan Jain won 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6) over Delta juniors Miller and Williams.  And at No, 3 singles, Canterbury freshman Brody Blume edged Delta freshman Luke Atkinson 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Other results from the day:

• Senior James Root played his first varsity match, losing 6-2, 6-2 to a strong Cathedral player. He went 2-0 in JV matches.
• Sophomore Colten Cruea went 1-1 in JV matches.
• Senior Kam Swoboda and junior Kaden Crist went 2-1 in JV matches.
• Junior Ayden Mitchell and freshman Bryce Carmichael went 2-1 in JV matches, including victories over Homestead and Carroll.
• Junior John Atkinson won a JV match and dropped a varsity match at No. 2 doubles vs. Cathedral.
• The victory over DeKalb was career varsity win number 1,200 for Coach Cleland.

Delta (3-4 overall, 2-1 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference) will have a busy week of matches this week.  The Eagles host New Castle on Tuesday, travel to Lapel on Wednesday, host a JV match against Yorktown on Thursday, and then compete in the varsity and JV Kokomo Invitational on Saturday.

Complete results

CATHEDRAL 4, DELTA 1

Varsity Singles

1. Owen Cupp (D) lost to Coleman, 0-6, 3-6
2. Luke Atkinson (D) lost to Wojtalik, 2-6, 3-6
3. James Root (D) lost to Langfeldt, 2-6, 2-6

Varsity Doubles

1. Brady Williams / Ben Miller (D) def. Hanchar/Whelan, 6-3, 7-6 (7)
2. Aaron Elliott / John Atkinson (D) lost to Wernke/Wernke, 2-6, 1-6

DELTA 4, DEKALB 1

Varsity Singles

1. Kody Vest (D) lost to Derrow, 3-6, 3-6
2. Owen Cupp (D) def. Seiler, 6-0, 6-2
3. Luke Atkinson (D) def. Knepper, 6-4, 6-0

Varsity Doubles

1. Brady Williams / Ben Miller (D) def. Hartsough/Burton, 6-1, 6-0
2. Aaron Elliott / Tyce Dishman (D) def. Palumbo/Armey, 6-1, 6-0

DELTA 2, FW CANTERBURY 3

Varsity Singles

1. Kody Vest (D) lost to Kulkarni, 5-7, 3-6
2. Owen Cupp (D) def. Boyd, 6-1, 6-0
3. Luke Atkinson (D) lost to Blume, 3-6, 6-7 (5)

Varsity Doubles

1. Brady Williams / Ben Miller (D) lost to Urberg/Jain, 6-7 (3), 6-7 (6)
2. Aaron Elliott / Tyce Dishman (D) def. Singh/Reeves, 6-2, 6-3

JV Results

1. Colten Cruea (1-1) .. lost to Cathedral 4-6 and defeated DeKalb 6-3
2. James Root (2-0) … defeated DeKalb 6-4 and defeated Canterbury 6-1
3. Kam Swoboda (2-1) … defeated Carroll 8-1, lost to Hamilton SE 2-6, defeated Canterbury 8-0
4. Kaden Crist (2-1) … defeated DeKalb 6-0, lost to Hamilton SE 2-6, defeated Canterbury 8-0
5. Bryce Carmichael (2-1) … defeated Carroll 8-3, defeated Homestead 6-4, lost to Hamilton SE 5-7
6. Ayden Mitchell (2-1) … defeated Carroll 8-3, defeated Homestead 6-4, lost to Hamilton SE 5-7
7. John Atkinson (1-0) … defeated DeKalb 6-4