Fully in-Knox-ulated: Rochester draws Redskins again

Valley boys tennis draws Columbia City

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Rochester boys tennis team drew Knox for its quarterfinal match at the Culver Academy sectional.

This is not a repeat.

Rochester has now drawn Knox eight straight years in the sectional. They beat Knox in the 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020 sectionals. They lost to Knox in the 2015 and 2018 sectionals.

The Zebras’ match against Knox will be their second meeting this year. Rochester also beat the Redskins 5-0 at the John Glenn Invitational on Aug. 21 in matches decided by 10-game pro sets.

North Judson will play Culver Academy in the other semifinal.

Start time for both the Knox-Rochester and North Judson-Culver Academy matches is 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The sectional final is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Culver Academy has won 17 consecutive sectional titles. Rochester has not won a boys tennis sectional since 1983.

Rochester also has a win over North Judson this season. They do not play Culver Academy during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Tippecanoe Valley drew Columbia City in their sectional opener, and the teams will meet at Columbia City at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Valley lost to Columbia City 5-0 on Aug. 26 in their regular season meeting.

The Valley-Columbia City winner will play Whitko in the semifinals. Whitko received a bye. Whitko beat Valley 3-2 on Friday in their Three Rivers Conference meeting.

In the other half of the draw in the five-team sectional, Warsaw will play Wawasee. Warsaw is coached by former Valley girls tennis coach Stacy Lind. Warsaw has won 33 sectionals in its history, including the last nine in a row.

Culver Academy will host the regional on Oct. 5-6 and the semistate on Oct. 9.

Carmel will host the state quarterfinal match on Oct. 15. North Central (Indianapolis) will host the state semifinals and finals on Oct. 16. Carmel is the five-time defending state champion.