Lincoln East won its third straight Class A boys tennis championship Friday, but Coach Jeff Hoham wasnāt ready to say his Spartans had built a dynasty.
"The simple fact is," the 25-year-old Hoham said, "we have more talent than anybody else right now."
Of course, the fourth-year coach said, the talent pool is bound to shift one day. That means each title is worth savoring, he said.
"What we have," Hoham said, "is a community of parents and kids who are dedicated to tennis. These kids deserve all the credit. They did this with complete determination. When you win No.2 doubles, you know youāre tough."
East players reached the finals in three divisions and came away with two titles. Freshman Chad Van Horn won in No.2 singles, and junior Greg Lundstrom and senior Brian Comer teamed to win in No.2 doubles.
Millard North senior David Skid, runner-up to Lincoln Southeastās Mike Garcia a year ago, defeated East junior Mark Jones in three sets in the No.1 singles final.
Cousins Ryan and David Floth of Millard South won the No.1 doubles title when Omaha Westside sophomore Trystan Crook, playing with Dave Clark, severely sprained his ankle in the third game of the first set and was forced to retire. The Floths didnāt lose a set this fall and finished 30-0.
East ended with 44 points in the team race. Millard South edged Lincoln Southeast 36 1/2 to 36 for second. Omaha Westside was fourth with 34 points.
The Spartans entered Friday morningās semifinals tied for the lead with Southeast.
"There was a real factor that carried this team to the state title," Hoham said, "and it doesnāt even have to do with anything on the court. It has to do with what we talked about last night. There never was any panic. We just came out and played.
"Youāve got to have the never-quit, never-die attitude. If you carry that through, anything can happen. We had some luck, but sometimes fate just carries you through."
The fourth-seeded Skidās 6-3, 1-3, 6-3 victory offset a loss to Eastās Jones in last monthās Papillion-La Vista Invitational. Skid had reached the quarterfinals as a freshman and the semifinals as a sophomore before losing to Garcia in last yearās state final.
"I feel great," Skid said. "Iām so relieved to have finally won one of these things."
Skid made it to Fridayās final by defeating the top-seeded Garcia 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. The second-seeded Jones won his semifinal against Westside sophomore Aaron Crook 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Skidās win capped a senior campaign that started on a sour note. He sat out two weeks because of tendinitis in his wrist and, he said, didnāt return to top form until this week. Last week, Skid lost to Aaron Crook in the Metro Conference final.
"Iām playing the tennis I played last summer," he said, "and that was great tennis."
Van Horn made fast work of Omaha Burkeās Brad Kratky in the No.2 singles title match, winning 6-1, 6-1.
The Floth cousins were tied 1-1 in the first set with Westsideās Trystan Crook and Clark when Crook ran into a fence chasing a shot and sprained an ankle.
"Itās too bad it had to end that way," Westside Coach Paul Nyholm said.
Eastās Lunstrom and Comer defeated Southeastās Mike Wilson and Chris Freeman 6-2,6-4 in the No.2 doubles final.