By RYAN WALKER
MONROE — Winning a championship can be difficult for teams to do, but the Bluffton Tigers have taken it a step further.
The Tigers (11-4) won their third ACAC title in a row in boys’ tennis on Monday, sweeping the Adams Central Flying Jets 5-0 to take care of a perfect 3-0 conference record. All five matches were two-set sweeps.
The ACAC was just the first of their two goals. The second is a sectional championship, which hasn’t happened in Bluffton since 2015. Its next opportunity will begin on Oct. 1.
“The guys have worked their tails off, but this isn’t the tip of the iceberg for us either,” head coach Robert Vanderkolk said. “We’ve got another one we plan on winning next week, and that’s the one we’re really worried about.”
The Tigers’ road to three ACAC titles since 2022 hasn’t been easy. The 2023 squad was brand-new, replacing the previous year with mostly new faces. That team snuck by the conference with a tiebreaker, finishing 2-1 overall and was aided by a Jay County win over South Adams to clinch it.
All seven starters from last year’s team returned and have been on a mission. Since winning the ACAC as a new unit last season, the Tigers started to believe. But a 3-2 sectional loss to Norwell might have woken a sleeping giant.
Senior Nolan Lambert and No. 1 singles player said that the offseason was all about tennis. They played in the winter, spring and tournaments in the summer.
The group has emphasized that they don’t want to have the same feeling leaving the sectional as last year. So far, it’s paying off.
“This group has accomplished a lot, and it’s real fun to play with these guys,” Lambert said. “We’re talking to each other on the courts every time we’re out here. We’re encouraging each other and it’s just fun to win with this kind of team. I feel like I’m playing as a team even though I’m on the court by myself.”
It’s made life easy for Vanderkolk, as he watches his team compete at a high level and with self-motivation. He and his assistant coaches Spencer Schwartz and Hunter Cunningham will spend some time coaching during matches, but it isn’t all the time.
From Monday’s match to the sectional next week, the Tigers will have two more games to prepare for the four-team sectional that they will host. They’ve already defeated all of the teams they would potentially see in it as well.
With every passing day, Vanderkolk is confident that his boys will be itching to compete and bring home another title.
“That’s the beauty of this,” Vanderkolk said. “I really don’t have to remind them or dangle a carrot or anything. They know what they’re capable of. But they also know that we have a bullseye on our back … Those teams aren’t going to let us walk all over them. This isn’t a knock on our competition, but if we play our best tennis, there’s no way we lose the sectional net week.”
“Just compete like we have to finish this season,” Lambert said. “We’ve had some good teams that we’ve beat in the last couple of weeks. Everybody we’ve seen in the sectionals, we’ve seen already. We just have to play like we did the first time we played them.”
Bluffton’s next match will be at home against Huntington North at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25.
ryan@news-banner.com
Individual results:
• Nolan Lambert defeated Logan Heiman 7-6 (7-0), 6-2 at No. 1 singles.
• Anthony Hartman defeated Krew Clark 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
• Jacob Ribich defeated Zach Frank 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.
• Ben Maggard and Coy Lantz defeated Brody Isch and Mason Fruechte 6-3. 6-0 at No. 1 doubles.
• Kade Abbett and Dane Schlagenhauf defeated Chris Espinosa and Jaiden Patterson 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Bluffton fell in the junior varsity match 6-4.
Results for JV:
• Michael Summers (AC) defeated Lance Moser 6-4.
• Reid Abbett (B) defeated Michael Summers 6-2.
• Jackson Meyer (B) defeated Eli Wellman 6-3.
• Alex Maggard (B) defeated Eli Wellman 6-0.
• Lincoln Rodgers (B) defeated Braden Dalrymple 6-4.
• Braden Dalrymple (AC) defeated Jared Moser 7-5.
• Kaden Hurst (AC) defeated Graham Linderwell 6-4.
• Kaden Hurst (AC) defeated Jace Draper 7-5.
• Daymon Frock and Sam Johnson (AC) defeated Grant Reifsteck and Braden Lemler 7-5 Daymon Frock and Sam Johnson (AC) defeated Chase Houser and Kenny Mercer 6-0.
