When the New Albany High School boys tennis team's Riyad Bennoui thinks about which doubles pair
could keep him and teammate John Hendrix from winning a Division I sectional title, two other
teammates come to mind.
"It would probably be Ryan McNutt and Jordan Rabe," said Bennoui, whose doubles team is seeded
first in the sectional tournament today and Saturday at Pickerington Central. "They're pretty good
in practice and, in all honesty, that is the team that we've talked about the most."
Having teammates meet in a sectional final is nothing new for the Eagles. Last year Sam Romanoff
and eventual state champion Peter Kobelt, who is playing at Ohio State, met in the singles final.
Routinely, New Albany teammates have met in earlier rounds of the sectional tournament, a byproduct
of advancing all courts each of the past two seasons.
"We have the potential to have something happen like that again," coach Andy Sinclair said,
referring to teammates meeting in a final. "There are four sectional sites. I think a lot of the
top, quality players stayed away from the Upper Arlington site and our site, which is going to give
us some inter-team match-ups."
The way the seeding went, none of the Eagles could meet until after already qualifying for the
district tournament, which will be held May 21-22 at Hilliard Davidson. The top four finishers in
singles and doubles at sectional advance. Two wins earn a spot in a qualifying match, and an
additional win earns a spot at district. The New Albany teammates wouldn't have to meet each other
until after the third match.
Oliver Sybert is the top seed in singles, with Sean Yun seeded second and Romanoff seeded
fourth. Grove City's Joey Hemphill is seeded third. Sybert and Romanoff could meet for a spot in
the final against Yun, who is on the other side of the bracket.
Sybert was a district qualifier in doubles last year with McNutt. Romanoff and Yun were district
qualifiers a year ago in singles.
In doubles, Pickerington Central's Chase Thomas and Dallas Stang follow Bennoui and Hendrix in
the seeding. McNutt and Rabe are seeded third and Central's Alex Fischbach and Marshall LeVett are
seeded fourth.
Bennoui and graduate John Buell were sectional champions last season and McNutt and Sybert
finished third to advance.
Without Bennoui or Hendrix, who were given the day off last Saturday, New Albany remained
perfect in winning the OCC-Capital Division tournament.
The Eagles didn't lose a court in winning the OCC-Capital title for the fourth consecutive
season. They won tournament championships on all five courts, scoring 35 points to outdistance Big
Walnut and Olentangy Orange, which tied for second with 14 points.
New Albany was 7-0 in the regular season in the OCC-Capital, earning 42 points. Those points
combined with the tournament points gave the Eagles a league-best 77 points on the season. Big
Walnut was second with 46, followed by Olentangy Orange (38), Mount Vernon (37), Delaware (35),
Hilliard Bradley (17), Watkins Memorial (12) and Franklin Heights (1).
Last Saturday's tournament gave New Albany an opportunity to play some players who won't be
involved in the postseason.
Sybert, Yun and Julian Judge won league titles in singles and McNutt and Rabe and Armeen Farwana
and Romanoff won titles in doubles.
The competitors braved high winds and unseasonably cold temperatures to get the matches in
before the postseason started.
"The winds were like opening the sunroof on your car on the freeway," Sinclair said. "It was
more a test a character and being determined then actual stroking. It wasn't unusual to see players
out there hitting underhand serves."
Two days before, the Eagles defeated St. Charles 5-0 in an OTCA regional quarterfinal. The
Eagles advance to a regional semifinal against Dublin Jerome or Gahanna.
At a glance
Below are the recent results and coming schedule for the New Albany boys tennis team:
*May 4 - Defeated Mount Vernon 5-0
May 5 - Def. Olentangy Liberty 3-2
May 6 - Def. St. Charles 5-0
Last Saturday - Finished first (77) at OCC-Capital tournament, ahead of runner-up Big Walnut
(46)
Saturday - At Division I sectional tournament at Pickerington Central
Of note: The Eagles are 17-2 overall and finished 7-0 in the OCC-Capital.
*OCC-Capital match
