Boys HS Tennis Wraps Up At State

Boys’ high school tennis wrapped up on Friday, Oct. 16, with both class A and B state tournaments concluding after two chilly days.

Class A boys battled it out at the Koch Tennis Center in Omaha. First place Lincoln Southwest Silverhawks edged out the Lincoln East Spartans by 1.5 points to win the team title. Omaha Westside came in third place while Lincoln Southeast and Papillion-La Vista rounded out the top five.

Papillon-La Vista’s Ethan Neil beat Fremont’s Alex Bigsby for the #1 singles title. Omaha Westside’s Aaron Shefsky claimed the #2 singles title while Lincoln Southeast’s Graham Peterson and Nate Rathe blew through the finals of #1 doubles, never dropping a set.

Meanwhile, the Southwest Silverhawk duo of Dylan Thompson and Jack Shaffer also coasted to the finals, beating the rival Spartans in the #2 doubles category. 

“We elevated our game to another level that I had never played at before,” said Shaffer, a junior. “I felt like we couldn’t lose and I believe our opponent thought that too.”

“Ending my senior year with an individual and team state championship felt great,” added Thompson. “This was the best outcome I could have asked for."

Over at Woods Tennis Center in Lincoln, Mount Michael Benedictine edged out Omaha Skutt for the Class B team title. Nebraska City came in third, Grand Island Central Catholic came in fourth and McCook rounded out the top five. 

Photo 1: Southwest Silverhawks, Class A Champions; Photo 2: Mt. Michael, Class B Champions; Photo 3; Dylan Thompson and Jack Shaffer, Southwest Silverhawks.