Jesuit and Brother Martin were deep into the second set of a doubles tennis match that looked as though it would need a third set to determine a winner.
Only then did Jesuit juniors Leo Congeni and Scott Harper win five consecutive games for a 6-3, 7-5 comeback against Brother Martin freshman Reed MacAlester and junior Sal Trujillo in the doubles final at the LHSAA Division I, Region 4 tournament Tuesday at City Park Tennis Center.
The match decided the team championship outcome, as Jesuit went into the finals with a half-point lead on Brother Martin in the team standings. The winner was awarded one point as Jesuit won with 16½ points ahead of runner-up Brother Martin, stuck at 15.
Jesuit broke serve twice during the five-game run, including once in the game that put the Blue Jays ahead 6-5 when Harper went to serve for the match.
“We were trying to force winners and we were either missing or opening up the court,” Harper said about what caused him and Congeni to fall behind in the second set. “And when we kind of calmed down and went for high percentage shots, that really helped us get back in our groove.”
Jesuit won the team championship at the two-day regional tournament by advancing two singles players to the semifinals and two other doubles teams at least to the quarterfinals, including one that reached the semis.
All regional quarterfinalists in the singles and doubles draws advanced to the state tournament next week in Monroe. The Division I tournament is April 25-26.
Congeni and Harper reached the state quarterfinals in their first season as playing partners last year.
“This region is basically like state, besides Catholic (of Baton Rouge),” Harper said. “And it’s definitely great practice and (the regional win) shows that we can probably go far at state.”
Mount Carmel won the girls team championship with seniors Avery Wicker and Emmy Cohn winning the final two games for a 6-1, 7-6 victory against Dominican senior A’Maya Freeman and junior Sofia Chanes in the doubles final.
Mount Carmel coach Ed Wicker is Avery’s father, and this is his first season as head coach for the school.
“They’ve known each other for 10 years and dreamed of this moment together,” Ed Wicker said. “That I get to coach them and share this with them is a blessing.”
Mount Carmel decisively won the team championship ahead of runner-up Dominican. The Cubs put two semifinalists each in the singles and doubles draws and one from each advanced to the finals.
Mandeville senior Natalie Devraj won her fourth consecutive regional championship as the three-time state champion looks ahead to state. She celebrated her 6-0, 6-0 win against Mount Carmel junior Abby Galloway by holding a blue paper cutout of the No. 4 to commemorate her latest title.
St. Paul’s senior Reece Beckendorf defeated Brother Martin junior Mitchell Armbruster 6-2, 6-1 to win the regional title in his first high school season as a singles player. Beckendorf played on a state runner-up doubles team that lost in the finals to a Brother Martin team that paired Armbruster with his then-senior brother Mark.
“We grew up together so we know each other very well,” said Beckendorf, who lost a third-set tiebreak against Armbruster earlier this season. “I just tried to execute my game, get him uncomfortable and it worked today.”
Tennis
LHSAA Division I, Region 4
State qualifiers
Boys
Singles
Final: Beckendorf, St. Paul’s def. Armbruster, Brother Martin 6-2, 6-1.
Other semifinalists: Verges, Jesuit; Bravo, Jesuit. Other quarterfinalists: Kraus, St. Paul’s; Howell, Mandeville; Pichon, Slidell; Perilloux, Brother Martin.
Doubles
Final: Congeni/Harper, Jesuit def. MacAlester/Trujillo, Brother Martin 6-3, 7-5.
Other semifinalists: McCormick/Harrison, St. Paul’s; St. Germain/Costello, Jesuit. Other quarterfinalists: Edwards/LaFrance, Brother Martin; Graham/Macionne, Northshore; Brewer/Nazcou, Brother Martin; Cavallino/Goodson, Jesuit.
Girls
Singles
Final: Devraj, Mandeville def. Galloway, Mount Carmel 6-0, 6-0.
Other semifinalists: Ellison, Mount Carmel; Mayfield, Dominican. Other quarterfinalists: Lewis, Fontainebleau; Maristany, Dominican; Hill, Mandeville; Mackie, Slidell.
Doubles
Final: Wicker/Cohn, Mount Carmel def. Freeman/Chanes, Dominican 6-1, 7-6.
Other semifinalists: Couret/Thomas, Dominican; Green/Rivera, Mount Carmel. Other quarterfinalists: Guillot/Smith, Slidell; Thorne/Krupp, Mount Carmel; Hertz/Hawes, Dominican; Greene/Doyle, Mandeville.