It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that Mason Runkle is Center Grove’s No. 1 singles player next season. Until then, the junior is content with the role he plays for the state’s fifth-ranked boys tennis team.
The Trojans captured their 28th regional championship on Wednesday, defending their home courts with a 4-1 victory over Perry Meridian.
Playing No. 3 singles, Runkle downed the Falcons’ Victor Barona, 6-0, 6-0 — one of three matches Center Grove won without surrendering a game. The others were by senior Mitch Runkle at No. 2 singles and the Trojans’ top doubles pairing of senior Nic Ballesteros and junior Grant Herron.
“I have been thinking about (next year), but right now I just have to stay in the moment and do my part for the team as it is right now,” the headband-wearing Runkle said after improving his record to 21-5. “I’ve definitely learned a lot from all the upperclassmen. They’ve been really supportive.”
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Center Grove’s dominance qualified it for Saturday’s semistate. The Trojans play at noon on their home courts against 28th-ranked Richmond, which won its own regional on Wednesday with a 5-0 shutout of East Central.
How far into the postseason this squad can venture remains to be seen. But with four battle-tested seniors in his starting lineup, longtime coach Ivan Smith knows better than to set limits.
“This team is much better than last year’s team,” Smith said. “The thing that’s kind of separated us is we’ve won a lot of three-set matches. We’ve been tested and we’ve played a pretty tough schedule.
“We could lay an egg, but we scored a point against North Central, scored a point against Homestead, scored a point against Carmel and scored a point against Park Tudor. It’s not like we were overmatched. We’re just trying to keep getting better and hopefully be stronger mentally.”
The Trojans No. 2 doubles team of senior J.T. Embrey and sophomore Dhrumil Patel picked up a point, prevailing over Perry Meridian’s Tristan Nguyen and Christenzio Salemi, 6-0, 6-2. This duo also holds a 21-5 record, as do Ballesteros and Herron.
Both Center Grove doubles combinations are new this season; Ballesteros and Embrey were playing Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively, a year ago.
“We started the season together,” Herron said of working with Ballesteros. “The first match we lost to Brownsburg, but then after that we started to work as a team more instead of individually.”
The Falcons picked up a point at No. 1 singles. Junior Sajin Smith defeated Center Grove senior Trey Thixton, 6-1, 6-2.
Coming into Wednesday’s match, only three boys tennis programs in Indiana had won more regionals than Center Grove — Munster (34), North Central (32) and Homestead (30). Center Grove’s 11 semistate titles rank seventh all-time.
