In 1988, when Lincoln East won it's first Class A boys' state tennis title in school history, Rick Stempson and Andy Stock developed T-shirts for the team that said"The 20 year drought is over. Let the reign begin."
Those lines were more than just clever play on words. They turned out to be prophetic as well. The Spartans have been reigning state champions for seven straight years, a run that probably feels like a 100-year flood to the rest of Class A, especially Millard South, which has finished runner up to East the past five years.
Millard South appears to be East's main obstacle to an eighth straight title at the state meet Thursday and Friday at Omaha.
"When we were making those shirts, Andy and I started talking about all the real good players they had coming up and we started thinking this could be the start of a dynasty," said Stempson, who finished his college eligibility playing No. 6 for Nebraska last spring and is now a pro at Woods Tennis Center.
"But I never thought it would last this long."
Obstacles overcome
Some amazing things have occurred during the streak, none perhaps more incredible than what happened two years ago.
The team title came down to a third set tiebreaker in the No. 1 doubles championship match between the Saprtans' Ryan Haith and Sam Nelson and Millard South's Jay Bemis and Chaz Kuper. With a crowd of around 150 spectators exploding after every point, the East duo trailed 5-3 in the decisive set and saved four match points before pulling out the tiebreaker, 11-9.
Haith, now a senior, erased one match point with a shot that skipped off the net and over Bemis' racket. With Millard South leading 6-4 in the tiebreaker, Haith scrapped out a half volley that appeared to be going out, only to have it land just inside the line, a ball which proved too difficult for the Millard South team to handle.
Haith did not know the team title hinged on the outcome of that match. "And that was probably a good thing," said Haith, who has the chance to become the first three time No. 1 doubles gold medallist in Class A. "If I would've known. I would've been way too tight to make a shot like that."
The 1993 state meet will also be remembered for Chad Van Horn . Three days into two-a-day practices in August, East's No. 1 singles player suffered a near fatal asthma attack that left him in a coma for eight hours and on life support systems for two days. A few weeks later, Van Horn was playing again, and he capped a 25-0 season with a three-set win over Millard South's Ryan Furher in the state finals.
Hoham 'reignmaker'
When East won in 1988, the Spartans' became the first team champion not to have a gold medalist in any of the four divisions, a distinction they still hold. And there was the Dynek factor. Stock injured his shoulder shortly before the state meet, forcing Coach Jeff Hoham to insert No. 7 player Mark Dynek with Stempson at No. 1 doubles. That duo exceeded everyone's expectations by finishing third. "Hoham had that guy so fired up, he believed he could do it," Stempson said Hoham, who has done graduate work in psychology, puts that training to use in his coaching. He uses a number of techniques that teaches players to relax and perform at their highest levels during pressure packed competition. The results at state speak for the success of his methods. Perhaps Hoham deserves the nickname "reignmaker." Because most of the top players work with local pros throughout the year refine their tennis games, "you need more of a motivator during the high school season, and he does that," Stempson said. "He (Hoham) gets guys believing in themselves."