Will Cusic, Gabe Wilke excited to represent North at IHSAA boys tennis state finals
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Area boys tennis players historically have been challenged by the IHSAA state finals, whether they are competing individually or as a team.
It's been 35 years since a state champion hailed from Southwestern Indiana. Many have attempted to claim those elusive titles before coming up short. Now, North High School's doubles team of Will Cusic and Gabe Wilke is preparing to take another crack at the crown.
"I think it's really cool," said Cusic, a senior. "It's a great opportunity. I really hope that we can play just as well as we did last weekend and just keep that going forward."
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Standing in their way is a duo from Carmel, which had won six consecutive team state titles and is typically not a threat to those competing individually at state. The Greyhounds lost in the sectional round but their No. 1 doubles team remains undefeated this fall and will face the Huskies' duo in the quarterfinals Friday at Park Tudor High School.
Cusic and Wilke (14-4) punched their tickets to state last weekend in the Bedford North Lawrence Regional with a straight-set sweep of Silver Creek in the championship match after handing Semour's top team its first loss of the season earlier in the day.
They're ecstatic to compete for a state title, which would be North’s first since Lee Sublett was the singles winner in 1973 — the Huskies' lone championship. Cusic and Wilke are the first North doubles pair to make state since 2011 when Nick Carey and Justin Poirier represented the Huskies.
"Those two have great chemistry together," North coach Caleb Heiman said. "They both work well together and are high-quality athletes. I knew that their chance would be pretty high given that. So, I was looking forward to this particular opportunity coming into the season because I thought this could happen."
No one from the Evansville area has ever won a state doubles title despite Memorial and Castle sending duos in recent years. Yet, there's an outside chance a pair of Southern Indiana Athletic Conference foes will face off in the championship because Jasper's Eli Flick and Noah Schue (23-4) also qualified and are on the other side of the bracket.
It's been quite a journey for North's duo to reach this point. They remain perfect in the postseason, having defeated players from Bosse and Castle in the sectional before silencing crowds supporting Seymour and Silver Creek last weekend.
"(The Owls) were getting pretty loud," said Wilke, a junior. "Silver Creek wasn't as intense because we beat them pretty bad."
Cusic and Wilke established themselves as the Huskies' top doubles as the season went on. Their communication on the court is natural because they're close friends. Wilke is the most reserved while Cusic can get fired up on the court.
Cusic has provided big moments for North since he helped them win a sectional title as a freshman. The four-year varsity player has experience in both singles and doubles, but this will be his final hurrah as a high schooler. His presence will be missed after he graduates in the spring.
However, Heiman is looking forward to even bigger things from Wilke with another full season left.
"He's one of our most mentally strong players as well," Heiman said. "I feel like I can put him anywhere on the lineup next year and he will find success."
The players believe it's important to carry their Husky pride into Indianapolis. Wilke and Cusic want to show they are respectable opponents to the rest of the field despite Central Indiana often dominating the finals.
Perhaps they can use their confidence to make history this weekend.
"I wanted to go to state. I didn't know how much he wanted to go to state," Cusic said. "It was just cool to have the opportunity."
Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on Twitter @Twashington490.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: North's Will Cusic, Gabe Wilke reach IHSAA tennis state finals
