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Brebeuf Jesuit edges Center Grove for first crown in 51 years
INDIANAPOLIS – The top-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit Braves turned back the clock Saturday afternoon at the Barbara S. Wynne Tennis Center.
Locked in a 2-2 tie with No. 4 Center Grove during the 58th annual IHSAA boys team tennis state finals at North Central High School, Braves sophomore Tony Tancredi came up clutch, winning his decisive, two singles match 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to secure Brebeuf’s first state title since 1973.
“It means everything for us to do this. I’m so excited,” Tancredi said. “It was hard, but I had to breathe, and I had to keep myself going. I was staying in the present.”
The moment was primed for either Brebeuf Jesuit’s tennis program (24-1) to end its 51-year state championship drought or for the Center Grove Trojans (23-4) to avenge two previous losses en route to a first state title since 2008 and third overall.
Tancredi knew what was at stake.
Prevailing at one singles during the programs’ regular-season meeting last month, which Brebeuf won 3-2, Tancredi charged back in the third set Saturday to take a commanding 5-3 advantage.
“We were aware of (the drought). For us, it was really a big focus this year. Being ranked No. 1 all year, it’s kind of easy for you to look at it and be like this is automatic. We’re going to go in here and cruise through it, but last year we were ranked No. 2, and we fell pretty early,” Brebeuf senior Will Hutchison said. “The key for us this year was keeping our head down, and even though we were ranked No. 1 use that as fuel. Everyone is trying to beat us.”
The Trojans were no exception.
Center Grove beat Penn, 5-0, during Friday’s quarterfinal round before avenging a 3-2 loss against Jasper suffered last month. The Trojans got their revenge during Saturday morning’s semifinal round by flipping the score 3-2 against Jasper to advance.
In the Trojans’ first match with the Braves on Sept. 17, Brebeuf swept all three singles spots to fend off Center Grove, 3-2.
In the rematch, Brebeuf changed up the formula with the tandem of sophomore Andrew Held and junior Harry Stutler winning at two doubles, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), while Tancredi moved from one singles to two.
“We knew they were going to give us everything they had, and we’ve been resilient all year. When things got really tough in that doubles match, our guys just found a way. I think that’s the epitome of our season,” Brebeuf head coach Brandon Gill said. “We just found a way. We were super resilient throughout the tournament, even in the regular season. There were matches we could have folded easily. That’s what this team is all about. Just playing for one another and being resilient.”
Brebeuf opened the state finals with a 5-0 sweep over No. 8 Evansville Memorial before shutting out No. 15 South Bend Saint Joseph 5-0 in the semifinals.
The Braves trailed the Trojans in the championship match 1-0 after seniors Carson Bush and Daksh Patel won 6-4, 6-1 at one doubles for Center Grove. Brebeuf surged ahead 2-1 after junior Owen Birge won 6-2, 6-2 at three singles and Held and Stutler came through in their two doubles match.
“To be honest, I thought we were losing down there at two doubles, and that gave me a little bit of extra motivation to swing it in the second set and get that win, but at the end of the day, we beat them with depth,” Hutchison said. “I’m happy that all our boys came out here and supported us and everyone was here for us.”
Hutchison fell behind against Center Grove senior Tyler Lane, who claimed the first set 6-3 before dropping the second 6-2. Lane bounced back to win the third, 6-1, and tied the team score 2-2.
“We made it in 2022, and we lost to North Central in the semifinals. Our goal was to get back to the semifinals this morning and put ourselves in a spot to win. We did that, and we were out here for almost three hours. You couldn’t ask for anything else,” Center Grove head coach David Beasley said. “Our kids completely battled, and tight matches all the way around. It’s just a point here or there, and that decided the championship. It’s about capitalizing on the moments. Brebeuf did that a little bit better than we did tonight.”
Tancredi, who suffered an in-season ankle injury that prompted his move to two singles, saved his best for the last.
Last year, the Braves lost to Park Tudor in the Sectional 36 finals 3-2 with Tancredi falling short in his singles match.
This season, the Braves focused on refining their mental approach with coach Tommy Short, who worked exclusively with the team on strengthening their minds.
“Just keep grinding at it type of mentality. It was key for all the guys on the team. That was our big focus this season,” Hutchison said. “We brought in a mental coach, and he’s helped us with our mentality, and we’ve been able to really turn it around. I think that’s what gave us an upper hand today.”
Tancredi’s skillset handled the rest, netting a second team tennis crown overall for Brebeuf, while coach Gill became the first former individual tennis state champion (Park Tudor) to also guide a team to a state title.
“It’s huge. I started at Brebeuf 11 years ago, and the biggest thing was I wanted to bring some accountability and some professionalism back to the program. It takes time, but slowly but surely, I felt like we built the program back up to a point where we could compete and would have kids want to play there,” Gill said. “It’s amazing. Brebeuf is special. The school is special. The administrators are special. I’m lucky. I feel very blessed to be there.”
Jasper's Schnarr is Mental Attitude Award honoree
During the awards ceremony, Jasper's No. 1 doubles player Caleb Schnarr was presented the Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Executive Committee.
The senior owns a 4.4 GPA, ranks second in his class and is a four-year member of the tennis team and will be a four-year member of the golf team next spring.
He is the son of Brad and Jennifer Schnarr of Jasper, Indiana and has verbally committed to play golf at Indiana University where he intends to study finance.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA's corporate partner, made the presentation of a $1,000 scholarship to Jasper High School's general scholarship fund in the name of Schnarr.
