Sioux Falls Lincoln cruises to fourth straight tennis team title

Staff reports
Posted 5/21/17

SIOUX FALLS – Sioux Falls Lincoln won five of the six singles titles and all three doubles titles en route to taking the team championship at the State Boys’ Tennis Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

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Sioux Falls Lincoln cruises to fourth straight tennis team title

Posted

SIOUX FALLS – Sioux Falls Lincoln won five of the six singles titles and all three doubles titles en route to taking the team championship at the State Boys’ Tennis Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.

The tourney concluded indoors Saturday at Huether Family Match Pointe.

The Patriots totaled 740 team points. Rapid City Stevens (500) was second and Sioux Falls Washington (453) third.

Brookings finished 15th at 125.

Senior Kaleb Dobbs capped a perfect season – 27-0 – and won the Flight 1 singles title for the third year in a row by beating Madison’s Kevin Shan 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Sophomore Sam Dobbs, senior Aidan DeBoer, junior Arjun Choudhry and junior Graham Leonard were victorious at Flights 2-5, respectively.

Dobbs successfully defended his title at Flight 2 and Leonard, who went 28-0, did the same at Flight 5.

Raider freshman Dawson Segrist (30-1) handed Patriot freshman Rahul Giri his only loss of the season, 6-1, 2-6, 10-6, in the Flight 6 finale.

Lincoln’s six singles players combined for a 159-6 record this season.

The Dobbs brothers finished 27-0 at Flight 1 singles, including a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Sioux Falls O’Gorman’s Cade Damgaard and Wil McDowell in the title match. They won the championship three straight seasons, while Kaleb Dobbs also teamed with Brent Heflin for the win in 2014.

DeBoer and Choudhry prevailed in Flight 2, while Leonard and Akshay Choudhry triumphed at Flight 3.

Leonard was also a member of the winning Flight 3 doubles team a season prior.

The Patriots’ three doubles teams posted a combined 78-2 record for the year.

Notes: Sioux Falls Lincoln has now won 16 team titles. The Patriots also won in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015 and 2016. They were runners-up in 1992, 1993 and 1994. … Eight Patriots have combined to win 12 Flight 1 singles championships, including the three by Kaleb Dobbs. Other winners were Craig Sandvig (1966, 1967), Jeff Kawalsky (1968), Bill Clayton (1969, 1971), Mike Hoeger (1977), Christopher Nielsen (1991), Jason Kiner (1996) and Eric Sorenson (2004). … The last player to win three consecutive Flight 1 singles titles was Rapid City Stevens’ Billy Paluch from 2007-09.

STATE BOYS’ TENNIS TOURNAMENT

Team scores – S.F. Lincoln 740 R.C. Stevens 500, S.F. Washington 453, S.F. O’Gorman 413, Mitchell 358, S.F. Roosevelt 284.5, Aberdeen Roncalli 278, Brandon Valley 269.5, St. Thomas More 237, Pierre 224, Watertown 204, Aberdeen Central 197, Madison 135, Yankton 134.5, Brookings 125, Huron 112, R.C. Christian 96, Harrisburg 57, S.F. Falls Christian 5, Spearfish 2, Milbank Area 0, R.C. Central 0, Vermillion 0.

Singles

Flight 1

No. 1 Kaleb Dobbs (27-0), Sr., SFL, def. No. 2 Kevin Shan (18-2), Jr., Madison 6-3, 6-2

Flight 2

No. 2 Sam Dobbs (26-1), So., SFL, def. No. 1 Wil McDowell (25-2), So., S.F. O’Gorman, 6-4, 6-0

Flight 3

No. 1 Aidan DeBoer (25-2), Sr., SFL, def. No. 3 Michael Yousef (21-5), Fr., SFO, 6-1, 6-4

Flight 4

No. 1 Arjun Choudhry (25-2), Jr., SFL, def. No. 3 Ben Anderson (15-4), Jr., RCS, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8

Flight 5

No. 1 Graham Leonard (28-0), Jr., SFL, def. No. 2 Jackson Ellis (29-2), Jr., RCS, 6-3, 1-6, 10-3

Flight 6

No. 2 Dawson Segrist (30-1), Fr., RCS, def. No. 1 Rahul Giri (28-1), Fr., SFL, 6-1, 2-6, 10-6

Doubles

Flight 1

No. 1 Kaleb Dobbs/Sam Dobbs (27-0), Sr./So., SFL, def. No. 3 Cade Damgaard/Wil McDowell (21-6), So./So., SFO, 6-2, 6-1

Flight 2

No. 1 Aidan DeBoer/Arjun Choudhry (26-1), Sr./Jr., SFL def. No. 2 Ethan Reuter/Ben Anderson (15-4), Sr./Jr., RCS, 6-0, 6-2

Flight 3

No. 2 Graham Leonard/Akshay Choudhry (25-1), Jr./So., SFL def. No. 5 Nic Gregg/Ethan Hays (16-7), Sr./Sr., SFW, 6-3, 6-3