Neighborhood Extra Nov. 17th, 2007

Balance helps East boys win first state tennis title since’95

Feat marks 15^th state title for a Jeff Hoham coached team in his 21 years at Lincoln East.

The Lincoln East boy’s tennis team completed an undefeated season by winning the Class A high school state championship at the Harry Koch Family Tennis Center in Omaha on Oct. 12.

The Feat marked the school’s first team championship in 12 years, and 9^th overall for the Spartans

The school earned a record 8 consecutive titles from 1988-’95.

Lincoln East outdistanced 41.5 points to 37 to win the title. Coach Jeff Hoham’s Spartans had all four entrants make at least the semifinals.

The Spartans’ No. 2 doubles team of seniors Garth Hamilton and David Meager finished the year with a record of 33-0. Clinching the state title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over a Creighton Prep duo.

East’s No. 1 and No. 2 single players, Brandon Videtich and Matt Dunlap, respectively, each finished in third place in their respective divisions, and East’s No. 1 doubles team (senior Alex Neuhaus and junior Ross Schulenburg) finished 4^th.

This year’s tennis title was the 15^th state championship by a Jeff Hoham coached team in his 21 years at Lincoln East.

His teams have won 3 titles in girls tennis, 3 in boys soccer, and 9 in boys tennis.

The final Class A team standings for the boys state high school tourney: Lincoln East, 41.5; Creighton Prep, 37; Omaha Westside, 36; Lincoln Southeast, 34; Omaha Burke, 28; North Platte and Papillion LaVista South, 24; Grand Island and Kearney, 20 each; Millard North, 18; Lincoln Southwest, 15; Papillion LaVista, 14; Lincoln Northeast, 10; Lincoln North Star and Millard West, 8 each; Bellevue East, Fremont, and Omaha Burke, 6 each; Lincoln High School, Millard South, Norfolk, and Omaha Central, 2 each; Omaha North and Omaha Northwest failed to score.