The Creighton Prep tennis team secured its third consecutive state championship on Oct. 14. This title proved to be the most hotly contested one of the streak, as Prep only beat Lincoln Southwest by a point and half, compared to their 11- and eight-point triumphs over Lincoln Southwest in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Due to a few injuries and new doubles teams trying to find their rapport, the team as whole experienced a slow start to the season, conceding their first few tournaments. However, they managed to reverse their fortunes during the Papio Invite.

“We had a few mishaps and a few losses earlier in the season, and the Papio Invite is the second biggest tournament of the year, besides state itself, so when we came out and really played strong and won all of our events handily, that tournament was the turning point when we knew we were back in control for state,” said senior Thomas Kennedy.

In control they were, as both doubles teams, as well as junior Brett Slezak and senior Alex King, Prep’s No. 1 and 2 singles players, fought their ways through their various opponents in their brackets and advanced to the championship matches.

“Every match you gain confidence, you’re always thinking about that final match, but when you’re playing those previous rounds it helps to get your strokes going,” said Slezak.

“It definitely helps to build up the intensity of each round and the stakes become higher, so it’s a good measure of how you’re playing to keep pushing the limit each match you get,” said Kennedy.

The championship matchups featured a few rematches from last year’s finals, including the No. 1 singles match, Slezak versus Lincoln Southwest’s William Gleason, and the No. 2 singles match, King versus Lincoln East’s Mason Williams, along with Kennedy going up against Lincoln Southwest’s Lucas Dionisopoulos and Duncan Works once more with his new partner, junior Ryan McNamara.

“I beat him before in the Papio Invite earlier this year, but he’s a good player, and I played him in the state finals last year and lost, so I was ready for a good match,” said King.

While Slezak finished second, as well as senior Maxim Oleynikov and junior Brian O’Flanagan in the No. 2 doubles final, Kennedy and McNamara bested Lincoln Southwest’s top duo, along with King defeating Williams.

“Alex King had the best day of tennis I’ve ever seen him have. He had it on the last day of the year, and he had it to win two matches we had to have to get the state title, so it was a really impressive day for him,” said head coach Mike Higgins.

King received even more praise from his teammates, as he was hailed for his pivotal role in taking home that state title.

“He came into state as the number three seed in his event, and he pulled two really clutch wins and he was a difference maker for us at state for sure,” said Slezak.

“Alex was the MVP of the state tournament for what he did in his last two matches and going against the odds and filling the spot we needed to get those last few points to win,” said Kennedy.

Overall, the concentrated effort of the team as a whole led them to the state title.