A pair of third place wins were chalked up by the Henryetta boys tennis team at state.
Those spots went to the HHS 1 and 2 doubles teams, both of whom lost out in the semi-finals to teams that would eventually win first and second place state titles.
The biggest thrill for Henryetta fans was in the 1 singles competition with Ethan Lovell playing and winning against all odds.
Lovell was the victim in an injury car wreck the week before state when a suspected drunk driver crashed into him in town. That accident had Lovell treating spectators to an HHS Knight winning his first match at Oklahoma City 6-1, 6-1.
That injury caused coaches to take a default in the semi-finals putting Lovell against Harrah’s Alex Peterson. “We knew Ethan was playing through the pain but we didn’t want to cause any damage,” said assistant coach John Truesdell. Lovell would go on to lose 6-3, 6-3 knocking him out of the rest of the bracket.
“What a tough, determined, focused young man! He knew what it meant for his team,” coach Dustin Mosco said.
That determination was honored by the OSSAA at the conclusion of the tournament awards ceremony. The OSSAA director David Golver called Lovell’s appearance a lesson in toughness and inspirational play.
Brayden Jones was the Henryetta competitor in the 2 singles but he lost two of three sets against Regent throwing him into the consolation brackets. Jones lost his opening set 6-2 then came back to post a 6-4 win but couldn’t get the third match to go his way losing 6-2.
Playing against Byng’s Hunter Murray, Jones took a 6-1, 6-4 win but lost 6-3, 6-1 to Noah Rinderman from Christian Heritage Academy.
In 1 doubles, Jordan Osterdock and John Ritter won three matches in a row before being defeated by Regent Prep.
They started out winning 6-2 to Clinton’s Jones and Nguyen the losing 4-6 before taking the third match 6-2.
That put them against Byng and set them up for a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Regent’s brothers Boshoff gave the two Knights their third loss of the entire season putting them in the third place contest with Metro Christian.
Osterdock and Ritter won the opening match 6-2 but lost 3-6 in the second then stormed back for a 6-3 win.
Both are seniors and ended the spring season with 31 wins and only three losses. In the past two years, they won 63 matches while losing 10.
For Ritter, his tennis career included a 2 doubles state runner up title in 2019, two doubles placing fourth in 2021 and now third.
Osterdock was a 1 singles state qualifier in 2019 then fourth in 2021 and third in 2022 in the 1 doubles.
Joining them in the level of excellent was the Henryetta 2 doubles team of Sheldon Andrews and Josh Osterdock
Ending their year with 25 wins and only six losses, they also started strong in the state tournament.
The first win was 7-6, 6-3 against Knowles and Owens from Oklahoma Christian Academy. That was followed with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win over Foster and Johnson from Lincoln.
In the semifinals, they made Holland Hall work for the win. Osterdock and Andrews lost the opening match 6-2 then fought back a 6-2 win but lost 6-4 in the third. Holland Hall would go on to win the state 2 doubles title 6-3, 6-1 against Byng.
Playing for third, it was Henryetta all the way over Pauls Valley. The Knights win the first match 6-1 then blanked Pauls Bailey 6-0 for the third place title.
“This was a tremendous season for both of them,” coach Mosco said.
In the past two years, they won 6- matches and lost only 16. That is a great accomplishment.”
This was the second year for Osterdock to place third in the 2 doubles bracket.