Dirksen stays alive

NOBLESVILLE — Abraham Dirksen and Sam Barr squared off twice during the regular season. Dirksen found himself victorious in both meetings.

That didn’t change Wednesday.

After the Jay County High School boys tennis team was eliminated from the postseason Tuesday, Dirksen moved on as an individual and beat the Frankton senior 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 in the singles sectional tournament at Noblesville High School.

In the first matchup on Aug. 19, Barr tested Dirksen in the first set before falling 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. On Sept. 24, Dirksen had a better time handling him, winning 6-3, 6-3.

Dirksen moved on to play Alex Sagarra of Westfield on Thursday. (See Saturday’s newspaper for details.)

Dirksen was also one of three Patriots named to the All-Allen County Athletic Conference team Wednesday. He was joined by the No. 1 doubles duo of Sam Myers and Gage Sims. They swept their opponents from Bluffton, Adams Central and South Adams to earn the honors.

The team also earned Academic All-State Team honors, announced by the Indiana High School Tennis Coaches Association. To be recognized, teams need to maintain a grade point average of 3.6 or greater.

“The academic effort and success of these young men will set them up for future greatness more than ACAC honors or Sectional Titles,” said coach Donald Gillespie in a press release.