MUNSTER | When asked if this streak will be intact another 30 years from now, Munster junior Ryan Heuer quickly responded, "Yes."
One thing Heuer knows is that he will be given one more chance next year to help keep the streak going, but for the moment the Munster boys will enjoy the school's 30th straight sectional title.
Munster will advance to the regionals after defeating a resilient Lake Central team 5-0 Thursday.
Munster senior Aaditya Shah won the No. 1 singles match over Adam Meeker 6-1, 6-4. Munster's No. 1 doubles team of Chandler Marcus and Ryan Heuer defeated Lake Central's Chris Pyle and Thomas Lozanoski 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
"He played really well," Shah said of Meeker. "He wasn't making many mistakes. We had a very good second set and even a pretty good first set."
After dropping their first set 6-3, Marcus and Heuer battled back for the three-set win in the No. 1 doubles match.
"It was close, but we knew we could do it," Chandler Marcus said of the No. 1 doubles victory. "We just came in here and when we got to playing, we got a little more comfortable."
Sophomores Jack Heiniger and Michael Kitchell won the No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches, respectively, for the Mustangs. Heiniger defeated Lake Central's Chuckie Sayger 6-1, 6-0, and Kitchell defeated Bryan Mika 6-1, 6-4.
"We played hard," Lake Central coach Eric Stark said. "We proved to everyone that came out and saw this that the score won't indicate how close some of the matches actually were. Our guys fought hard. They played very well."
No. 2 doubles players Nathan Kondumari and Taha Qureshi of Munster defeated John Hemmerling and Matt Falcone 6-2, 6-4. The Mustangs' streak of 30 straight sectionals is second only to Homestead's current streak of 31.
"We knew that L.C. was going to come to battle," Mustang coach Steve Lopez said. "They're always going to do that. They are one of the power programs in the area. Coach Stark did a great job in his first year with these kids. They're young; a lot of them are green, and he got them believing, and that energy transferred into his team."
Munster will face the winner of the E.C. Central Sectional next week at the Munster Regional. These Mustangs seem to take the long legacy of winning in stride and aren't worrying about the sectional streak but are looking to go farther.
"We're looking for a championship, a state championship," Marcus said. "It's been our goal for the last couple years. We've gotten there. We know we can do it this year."
Please Wait…