Spartanâs Hoham joins in cheering team to record sixth straight Class A tennis title

Lincoln East boysâ tennis coach Jeff Hoham called the Spartansâ state record sixth straight Class A team title " the most incredible state championship" heâd seen.

East won the title when itâs No.1 doubles team of Sam Nelson and Ryan Haith saved four match points against them and pulled out a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) over Millard Southâs Jay Bemis and Chaz Kuper in the championship Friday at Dewey Tennis Center.

That, combined with Chad Van Hornâs 1-6 , 6-1, 6-4 win against Ryan Fuhrer of Millard South in the No. 1 singles finals, gave East 54 points, two more than Millard South , the runner-up the past four years. Eastâs victory at No.1 doubles provided a swing of eight points.

"Sometimes when an athlete is down, they reach inside to find that adrenaline, that little something extra," said Hoham, who has coached all of the Spartansâ championship teams. " Thatâs what they did today.

"I donât think youâll ever find a team that overachieved like this one did. I donât normally do this at tournaments, but I became a fan for my own team today."

Millard South was one point from winning the title a year ago with match points against Eastâs No.1 doubles team of Matt Roth and Scott Tricker in the semifinals , but Roth and Tricker rallied to win.

Bemis and Kuper were right there again Friday with two match points against Nelson and Haith, leading 5-3 in the third set.

The Millard South combination also had two match points in the tie breaker , leading 6-4. A Haith half-volley deep down the forehand alley landed just inside the line to make it 6-5. A Bemis double-fault tied the score.

Millard South escaped three East match points before a low service rematch points before a low service return by Nelson allowed Haith to knock off an easy volley at match point.

"I never felt like we were going to lose, even when we down the match points,"said Nelson , who with Haith compiled at 24-1 record this fall. "The only time I was worried was when Ryanâs half volley was in the air."

Van Hornâs win over Fuhrer , the Î92 No.1 singles champion,capped a 25-0 season for the left-handed senior. The victory came less than two months after a near-fatal asthma attack that left Van Horn in a coma for almost eight hours and on life support for two days.

"I didnât think that would slow me down and it hasnât.," Van Horn said.

What slowed Van Horn down in the first set was barrage of passing shots from Fuhrer.

"He was on a roll, and I hit a lot of nervous volleys," Van Horn said. " I got down on myself and got mad." Then I did what Hoham tells me to do-just let it all hang out- in the second set."

Van Hornâs net charging tactics wore down Fuhrer in the final two sets. Van Horn played serve and volley on almost every point and also came in behind low, backspin approach shots.

"I played smarter in the second and third sets," said Van Horn, who won three of the last four games after Fuhrer had tied the third set at 3-3. "I was looking for better opportunities to come in and started slicing more, keeping the ball low. I was hitting top spin in the first set and he just went into a zone with those shots."

Fuhrer said getting his shots past Van Horn was tough.

"He doesnât give up the net, and it;s hard to get around him." Fuhrer said. " You have to find a way to do it and I could only do it for one set."

The Indians swept the No.2 divisions. Millard South Îs Bill Bemis defeated Eastâs Kelset Moran in the No.2 singles final 6-4 , 7-6. At No.2 doubles, the Indiansâ Tyler Johanek and Ty Kucera defeated Millard North Îs Nate Anda and Jamie Nelson in the final 5-7 , 7-5 , 7-6.