|
One good season followed another for the 2001 and 2002 Centralia High School Orphans tennis teams.
The 2001 club forged a 13-2 mark in dual matches, and not to be outdone, the 2002 club equaled the feat with a 13-1 record the following year.
Not coincidentally, many of the same players were involved in the two-year run which ranks among the best in the CHS history of the sport.
With just one senior returning in Mike Schmidt who had teamed with Blake Freels to win South 7 Conference and sectional titles in 2000, Centralia coach Craig Freels was optimistic going into the campaign.
“I said I would be happy with 10-5 (the 2000 dual match record) but if things go our way, hopefully we could go 12-3,” he said before the season began.
With two other returnees in Caleb Edson and Matt Terry, the Orphans forged ahead to an 11-2 dual match mark heading into the South 7 Conference Tournament. One of those was the 200th career victory for Craig Freels in a 6-3 decision versus Belleville Althoff.
While the Orphans had a rich tradition in tennis, it had not been a conference sport until 1994 and the first seven tournaments had been dominated by O’Fallon, which left the league prior to 2001, only to be replaced by another Metro-East power in Althoff.
Centralia made school history by taking the title with the help of a big effort by Matt Terry in the No. 2 singles flight. His first-place finish, and that of Mike Schmidt and Blake Freels at No. 1 doubles, and Jaffer Merchant and Caleb Edson at No. 2 pushed the Orphans over the top.
Before the sectional, Centralia won its final two regular season dual matches, the latter a 7-2 win over Greenville that was the 13th of the season and one that broke the previous mark of 12 set in 1981.
At the sectional, Schmidt and Blake Freels repeated as doubles champs and taking a 23-5 record to state for their third trip. Once there, they bounced back from a first-round loss to pick up two wins in the consolation bracket.
On the season and in addition to their won-lost mark, the Orphans were undefeated conference champs and sectional champions.
That led to 2002 and with an experience-laden club, the Orphans equaled their win total from the previous season at 13-1 while again playing a challenging schedule.
Centralia was deprived of a team conference title at the South 7 Tourney but had the respective Nos.1 and 2 doubles flights winners in Caleb Edson and Blake Freels, and Matt Terry and Jaffer Merchant.
Those four made an all-Centralia doubles final in sectional play at Triad with Freels and Edson downing Terry and Merchant with both duos advancing to state.
Once there, Freels and Edson became the first-ever Orphans to reach the second day of competition. They won their first round match and following a second-round defeat, won two contests in the consolation bracket and finished 3-2 at state.
On the season, the Orphans not only matched their record victory total from the year before but had second place finishes at conference and sectional tournaments, were sixth as a team at the Springfield Doubles, and were seventh at the Edwardsville Tournament.
Members of the 2001 club were Caleb Edson, Blake Freels, Chris Knapp, Albert Malekovic, Jaffer Merchant, Bill Radcliffe, Mike Schmidt, Matt Terry and Andrew Walton.
Members of the 2002 team were Josh Bauer, Brooks Demijan, Caleb Edson, Josh Fark, Blake Freels, Chris Knapp, Jaffer Merchant, Bill Radcliffe, Sagar Shroff, Matt Terry and Andrew Walton.
The coaches for both seasons were head coach Craig Freels and assistant Kent Van Cleve.
|
