For the first time in school history, Rapid City Christian has won a state boys tennis title. The Comets captured the state championship on Tuesday in Sioux Falls with a dominant performance.
The Comets finished with 584 points, which was a sizeable lead on Lennox, who concluded day two with 420.5 points. Sioux Falls Christian came in third with 396.5 points, Huron in fourth with 316 points, and Aberdeen Roncalli with 200.5 points in fifth to round out the top-5.
Of the nine flights, Rapid City Christian won eight of them.
“We talked a lot about belief. Belief in all the hard work we put in, you know, that hard work will carry you through,” said Comets head boys tennis coach Sterling Greni. “If you can put that into practice on the court, then you’ll be ok. We didn’t focus as much on our opponents. If we can do our best, if we can perform at our level, then we should see good results.”
Andrew Dobbs (S2), Joe Schneller (S3), Jack Hancock (S4), Noah Geyer (S5), and Henry Beckloff (S6) all won their singles flights. Noah Greni, who is the son to coach Sterling Greni, placed runner-up in Singles Flight 1. Additionally, Greni and Dobbs placed first in Doubles Flight 1, while Schneller and Hancock placed at the top in Doubles Flight 2, and Geyer and Beckloff got first in Doubles Flight 3.
“Beyond words how proud I am. They’re just a great group of young men,” explained coach Greni. “They’ve all wanted it really bad and they worked hard all season long. And we’ve challenged them to work hard, and they’ve answered those challenge, and I’m so proud of them.”
It’s one thing to be listed in first, however, and place in first when it’s all said and done.
“Coming into today we’d had a very successful season, so we were probably considered the favorite, and that always puts extra pressure on you and you hope you perform to those expectations, and I just feel blessed that the team did,” Greni explained. “They didn’t get too nervous, and they played hard and did well.”
Dobbs and Schneller and the two senior starters on this year’s Comets squad. But coach Greni is optimistic about the future.
“We’ll get four of our six starters back, and we will have two holes to fill,” the Rapid City Christian coach exclaimed. “We feel very fortunate that we have several JV players who have been working hard and are hungry for those two spots. We’re optimistic about that as well.”
This is the first boys state tennis title for Rapid City Christian. The city of Rapid City, in general, has some good roots with the sport. Those involved with the Comets team hope this is the start of something special.
“It means a lot to bring this home, not only to Rapid City Christian, but also to West River. We just feel blessed, by the Lord, that we were able to do that. It’s a thrill, it really is,” Greni said. “I felt like this kind of result was possible, but I wasn’t sure if we’d achieve it. You kind of always hold it in the back of your mind that you probably won’t live up to your full potential, but we really did. I can’t put into words. I’m so proud of the kids and how hard they’ve worked.”
