Saint Joseph, Penn battle for NIC tourney title yet again. Who came out on top this time?

Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune
·3 min read

SOUTH BEND — The Saint Joseph and Penn boys tennis rivalry has been a great one for a long time.

That tradition of competitiveness carried on Wednesday in the Northern Indiana Conference Tournament at Leeper Park.

Saint Joseph, ranked No. 24 statewide in the latest coaches poll, racked up 60 points to edge the No. 21 Kingsmen by a point to claim the team championship. The tournament, which was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, was played all day Wednesday after being postponed the previous two days due to inclement weather.

Tennis notebook:Experienced Kingsmen looking good early on

The title matches on four of the five courts came down to Saint Joseph and Penn Wednesday night. The champions claimed titles on three of the four courts to edge past Penn for St. Joe's fifth straight conference championship.

Junior Colin Blumentritt won the No. 2 singles title for coach Steve Bender's squad. Junior Will Westberry earned the No. 3 singles championship for Saint Joseph. The duo of sophomore Jake Westberry and freshman Luke Blumentritt prevailed to claim the No. 1 doubles title.

Colin Blumentritt improved his season mark to 17-2. Will Westberry and the duo of Jake Westberry and Luke Blumentritt are each 15-3 for St. Joe, which is 13-4 on the season.

Saint Joseph's Colin Blumentritt is shown during the 2021 Northern Indiana Conference tennis tournament at Leeper Park in South Bend. Blumentritt claimed the No. 2 NIC singles title Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (Photo: Michael Caterina, South Bend Tribune)
Saint Joseph's Colin Blumentritt is shown during the 2021 Northern Indiana Conference tennis tournament at Leeper Park in South Bend. Blumentritt claimed the No. 2 NIC singles title Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (Photo: Michael Caterina, South Bend Tribune)

Coach Eric Bower's Kingsmen claimed championships at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles action.

Sophomore Chris Chen was the No. 1 singles champion for Penn. The team of Evan Knapp and Quinn Lippert took the No. 2 doubles crown with a win over Elkhart in the title match.

The Kingsmen played the tournament without Petter Klasson, who has been playing No. 2 singles this season. Klasson, an exchange student from Sweden, was sidelined due to an injury.

Saint Joseph rallied to edge Penn 3-2, including winning a pair of three-set matches, in the regular season meeting between the two on Sept. 6.

NIC Boys Tennis Tournament

At Leeper Park

Team Scores: Saint Joseph 60, Penn 59, Elkhart 44, Bremen 41, Jimtown 40, Marian 30, Glenn 27, New Prairie 25, Adams 25, Riley 24, Clay 10, Washington 3.

SINGLES

No. 1: Championship: Chris Chen (P) def. Davis Borders (SJ) 6-2, 6-2. Third place: Mariano DeLeon (B) def. Beau Kaler (J) 7-5, 6-1.

No. 2. : Championship: Colin Blumentritt (SJ) def. Jaden Shim (P) 6-1, 6-0. Third place: Camden Hickman (B) def. Zane Wort (J) 6-0, 6-0.

No. 3 : Championship: Will Westberry (SJ) def. David Bao (P) 6-3, 6-1. Third place: Max Varner (B) def. Nick Hardy (E) 6-1, 6-0.

DOUBLES

No. 1. Championship: Jake Westberry-Luke Blumentritt (SJ) def. Eli Deitchley-Jeffrey Bao (P) 6-4, 4-4. Third place: Gianna Lucchese-Ethan Leazenby (E) def. Dylan Cook-Gaege Wachs (J) 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.

No. 2: Championship: Evan Knapp-Quinn Lippert (P) def. Kaden Kennedy-Noah Dibley (E) 6-2, 6-2. Third place: Will Barnes-Jake Gaul (SJ) def. Caleb Koets-Dalton Cook (J) 6-2, 6-1.

All-NIC First Team Selections: Chris Chen, Colin Blumentritt, Will Westberry and Davis Borders in singles. Jake Westberry-Luke Blumentritt, Evan Knapp-Quinn Lippert and Eli Deitchley-Jeffrey Bao in doubles.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Saint Joseph bests Penn for NIC boys tennis title