Patriot netters draw Rebels in opener

The Patriots know what their path will be to reclaim the sectional crown, and they couldn’t have drawn it up any better.

The IHSAA released the boys tennis sectional matchups Monday afternoon, with the Jay County High School boys tennis team drawing the Randolph Southern Rebels in the Sectional 53 opening round that the Patriots will host.

Jay County (7-10) will square off with the Rebels tonight at 5 p.m., while the Winchester Golden Falcons simultaneously take on the Union City Indians on the other set of courts.

Jay County has beaten all three teams during the regular season. The Patriots only dropped one position in the match against RSHS for a 4-1 victory. The sole loss came at the No. 2 singles, but Tucker Griffin forced a tiebreaker and a super tiebreaker to determine the victor.

During the regular season, the Patriots got an automatic point at the No. 2 doubles position, as the Rebels didn’t have enough players to fill in the lineup.

JCHS also beat Union City 4-1, but only edged out Winchester 3-2.

The Patriots only loss against UCHS came at the No. 1 doubles position, but the Indians duo of Brennan Hoggatt and Jacob Thornburg was split late in the regular season to compete as singles players.

In the WCHS match, Jay County claimed wins at the No. 1 and 3 singles as well as the No. 2 doubles.

Jay County’s No. 1 doubles player, Eli Dirksen, only gave up seven games to sectional opponents during the regular season, setting him up for a potential individual berth if the Patriots fall as a team.