Congratulations to senior Alex Starlight (left) and junior Gerard Suhor for being named to The Times-Picayune All-Metro Tennis Doubles Team.

Game, Set, and Title! Jesuit Tennis Wins State

Congratulations to Jesuit’s varsity tennis team for bring back the 2008 state tennis title to Carrollton and Banks. Pictured above are (from the left) Br. Larry Huck, S.J., (Coach), Aaron Cotton, Theo Kennedy, Gerard Suhor, Alex Starlight, Curtis Lew, Jordan Ezell, Taylor Smith , Paul Mickan, and Ed Sampognaro. State Tennis Tournament Photo Gallery (The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and nola.com) Blue Jays' Second Pairing Wins State Doubles Crown Suhor, Starlight beat teammates for title in Division I Thursday, May 01, 2008 By Tammy Nunez LAFAYETTE -- Jesuit did a victory lap in Wednesday's championships of the Division I (Class 5A) state tennis tournament at St. Thomas More. The Blue Jays secured the team title after one day of the two-day tournament, but had one piece of unfinished business Wednesday -- the doubles final. Jesuit's No. 2 doubles team of Gerard Suhor and Alex Starlight knocked off the Blue Jays' No. 1 team of Jordan Ezell and Curtis Lew for the title. The Blue Jays won with 15 points, 12 of which came from their doubles teams. Jesuit had won eight consecutive team titles before St. Paul's snapped its streak last year. "It feels good, because we lost last year," Starlight said. Jesuit wasn't the only local team celebrating. Charlie Jones, in winning his first singles title, pushed Destrehan to a school-best runner-up finish. the Wildcats finished with six points, five of which came from Jones. St. Paul's and Byrd each scored six points, but Jones' appearance in the final was the tiebreaker. Winning an individual title is new to Jones, who has torn up the USTA rankings but has never won a title in high school play. Jones, who will play for Vanderbilt next year, has been hamstrung by heat cramps in the high school postseason the past two years. He had to pull out of the singles final last year. "It has been frustrating," Jones said. "Last year I had a long semifinals match, it went too long. . . . It's been a nagging thing for me (to win a high school state championship). More than anything else, it's a relief." Jones had a tough semifinal match this year, too, battling the wind and Robert Verzaal of Byrd for a 7-6 (2), 6-0 victory. Then Jones beat Airline's Matthew Zachary 6-1, 6-0 for his first state title. The boys doubles final was an all-blue affair. But Suhor and Starlight dealt with the wind and No. 1-seeded teammates Ezell and Lew with perseverance and won 6-3, 6-2. "It wasn't easy," Suhor said. "They usually beat us," Starlight, a senior, said. "It was our best match of the tournament." Lew and Ezell, who have finished second in doubles the past two years, had the consolation prize of the team trophy. The local girls teams weren't as lucky. St. Scholastica and Mount Carmel were chasing St. Joseph's and St. Thomas More in the girls team race, but neither could catch the Cougars. St. Thomas More won its 13th overall girls title with 12 points. It was the Cougars' first Division I crown. St. Joseph's finished second with nine points, aided by two-time state singles champion Lauren Mira. Mira breezed through the singles final, beating St. Thomas More's Shelby Dufrene 6-1, 6-1. St. Scholastica landed two doubles teams in the semifinals, and that helped it to a third-place finish with seven points. The No. 1 Doves doubles team of Kellie Gutterman and Shelby Fritscher were the only metro-area girls who made Wednesday's finals. The duo lost to St. Thomas More's top-seeded team of Lauren Breaux and Erin Wilbert 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match. Gutterman and Fritscher went back and forth with Mount Carmel's Meghan deBaroncelli and Conner Murphy in the semifinals, but edged the Cubs in the tiebreaker 7-5, 7-6 (6). Gutterman and Fritscher then rested only an hour before playing in the doubles finals.

Jesuit Tennis Cruising Toward State Title

Jesuit’s varsity tennis team secured first place after the first day of the two day state tennis tournament in Lafayette. Tournament play wraps up Wednesday afternoon. (The following article is courtesy of The Times-Picayune and nola.com) Blue Jays Clinch State Championship Accomplishment on first day makes up for past disappointment Wednesday, April 30, 2008 By Tammy Nunez LAFAYETTE -- There was no question the Jesuit tennis team had been stewing for a while after last year's tiebreaking loss to St. Paul's in the Class 5A tournament. The Blue Jays' eight-year winning streak was snapped last year by the Wolves. But Jesuit atoned for 2007 and did it quickly. The Blue Jays, landing all three doubles teams in today's semifinals, clinched the state championship with 12 first-day points. "We definitely want to win bad because of what happened last year," said Jordan Ezell, who teams with Curtis Lew as the Blue Jays' top doubles team. "Because of a weird tiebreaker rule, we were runners-up. We're out for blood now." Ezell and Lew quickly dispatched their foes Tuesday, advancing to today's semifinals against the Brother Martin team of Perry Gaffney and Daniel Nguyen. Gaffney and Nguyen defeated a St. Thomas More team to become the only non-Jesuit team in the doubles semifinals. The Blue Jays had to wait out the last doubles match Tuesday to ensure their victory. The team of Aaron Cotton and Theo Kennedy were battling the No. 2-seeded St. Paul's team of John Michaelis and Alex Patel. Michaelis and Patel took the first set, but the Blue Jays' agile net play helped them dispose of the Wolves in the second and third sets. When the match was over, a loud howl of victory came from the Jesuit team that was watching from a grassy hill overlooking the court. Just minutes earlier, Lew was beginning to think of what would happen if the Blue Jays clinched in the first day. "It would be very satisfying, considering we lost last year," he said. The Blue Jays still have plenty to accomplish today. Lew and Ezell hope to finish their three-year partnership with a doubles state title, something that eluded them last year. Destrehan's Charlie Jones tore through the singles bracket Tuesday, gliding to today's semifinals and dropping only two games along the way. He will play Robert Verzaal of Byrd in a 9 a.m. semifinal. The girls team race is much closer. St. Joseph's Academy has an ace in its corner in singles star Lauren Mira. Mira, the top seed, breezed through her matches and provided a lion's share of the Red Stickers' seven first-day points. But St. Thomas More, Mount Carmel and St. Scholastica are in striking distance. Mandeville singles player Hayley Everett could be a wild card. Like the Jesuit team, she has something to make amends for after 2007. Everett, a sophomore, had to pull out of last year's regionals with an inflamed wrist. She missed three months with the injury but was back with a vengeance Tuesday. Everett, a left-hander, powered her backhand all over the court in her 6-1, 6-0 semifinal victory over Slidell's Meghan Elmore. "I just wanted to be real consistent with my shots and use my serve as a weapon," Everett said. "I'm finally all back, so I'm ready to go (for today)." Everett will play St. Thomas More's Shelby Dufrene, who she lost to over a year ago, for the chance to go to her first state championship match.

Senior Curtis Lew (left) and junior Jordan Ezell talk strategy during their doubles match Tuesday afternoon against the Crusaders.  Jesuit’s win over Br. Martin secured the district championship for the Blue Jays and continued the team’s undefeated season.   Singles winners from Tuesday afternoon are Jordan Ezell, Theo Kennedy, Taylor Smith, and Paul Mickan. Doubles winners were teams of Curtis Lew and Jordan Ezell, Alex Starlight and Gerard Suhor, Theo Kennedy and Reid Regouffre. Jesuit-Br.Martin Tennis Photo Gallery