Oct. 3—NOBLESVILLE — Tournament realignment may have changed the set and the scenery, but the net result was eerily familiar Tuesday evening.
Frankton became the latest in a long line of talented small-school tennis teams from Madison County to be gobbled up by the larger schools during the single-class IHSAA tournament as the Eagles fell 3-2 in the Noblesville Regional semifinal match against the host Millers.
The season will continue, however, for one Eagle as senior Sam Barr outlasted Ethan Feliciano 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) in the No. 1 Singles match. Barr will return Wednesday to face Jay County’s top player, Abe Dirksen, after he was the lone winner for the Patriots in a 4-1 loss to Delta.
Much like recent teams from Lapel and Madison-Grant in the fall, as well as the Alexandria girls in the spring, Frankton battled but could not overcome the depth in numbers for Noblesville, particularly in the doubles matches.
“My doubles guys, I asked them, and they said those were the best doubles players we had seen all season, easily,” Frankton coach Mark Hartley said. “That’s saying a lot. Kudos to their doubles teams. We have a solid team, and anyone that can do that to our team, they’re solid.”
On the court beside Sam Barr, his twin brother Max also prevailed with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Coleman Kratz. While his brother will advance, this proved to be Max’s final match with the team defeat.
“Especially against a good team like that, I’m proud to say I won my last match,” Max Barr said. “I didn’t double-fault a single time the whole game. I’m proud of that.”
While the sectional championships the seniors collected the last two seasons will be immortalized in the trophy case and the hallways of Frankton High School, a better symbol of the Barrs’ legacy could be seen surrounding the five courts occupied by Eagles players.
There was a sea of red as Frankton fans flooded the Noblesville tennis complex to watch a sport largely overshadowed in the community over the years. The increase in the level of tennis awareness and culture at the school is the far bigger accomplishment for these seniors.
“Frankton is Frankton, and everyone knows they show out and support the community,” Sam Barr said. “Tennis had been swept under the rug, whether that was lack of success or awareness, but winning has helped. But our team is all about it. Tennis season is tennis season, and we want everyone to know about it.”
“It’s huge because the last few years, we go to Delta for their camps,” Coach Hartley said. “You see that family. You see that culture that they’ve built. That could be Frankton one day. Maybe we’re headed in that direction.”
Sam Barr controlled the first set after jumping out to a 3-0 lead, but Feliciano battled back in the second set, taking his first lead at 3-2 and later held a 5-4 advantage. Sam Barr stayed with his game plan and overcame four set points during the tiebreaker, taking the last three points to advance.
“I just had to calm down and focus and say, ‘Hey, I just gotta win the next point,'” Sam Barr said. “I can’t make those mistakes and just kept scraping my way back.”
Elsewhere, it was a struggle on the courts for the Eagles.
Noblesville took a very quick 2-0 lead as it swept the doubles matches in short order. Dane Campbell and Jack Brennaman put the first point on the board at No. 2 Doubles with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Eli Birch while Rory Bushong and Liam Shepard followed suit with a 6-2, 6-0 No. 1 Doubles win over Jackson Alexander and Jon Hobbs.
All four Eagles doubles players will return next season, and after falling to the best doubles teams they had seen all season, will be central to Hartley’s goal of continuing the winning tradition.
“Some doubles guys may have to be singles now. We’ll see what’s best for the team,” he said. “I have all the confidence in the world that they can be good singles players.”
Down 2-0, but with the Barr twins leading, Frankton’s hopes hinged on the No. 3 Singles match where junior Aaron Hartley battled illness as well as Noblesville’s Zane Panning. After rallying from an early deficit, Hartley eventually succumbed 6-3, 6-2 to Panning, clinching the match for the Millers.
Despite the defeat, the Frankton coach expressed great pride in what his team accomplished and great hope for what it can do in the future.
“I’m really happy with the twins, obviously. They came through in a big way,” he said. “We’re definitely going to focus on the positives. We put two on them — both seniors. That’s a nice way to go out for Max, and now Sam gets to go on.”
Sam Barr’s match will not be the only singles match played Wednesday as Yorktown’s Anson Isaac will face Westfield’s Alex Sagarra. Both matches will be played at 4:45 p.m. with the winners set to meet Thursday.
Contact Rob Hunt at
rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com
or 765-640-4886.