SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Rapid City Christian claimed the class ‘A’ State Championship. They won eight of the nine flights at this week’s state tournament.
The Rapid City Christian boys tennis team won their first state title in school history earlier this week. It has been a long time goal since the program began.
“Since that’s something we’ve been working for, probably since we started the program at Rapid City Christian which was about eight years ago, I’ve been the only head coach of the team. And all that time we’ve talked about it and worked hard for it, to be able to bring that home is just beyond our wildest dreams,” Rapid City Christian head coach Sterling Greni said.
Noah, the son of coach Sterling Greni, is a sophomore on the team and has a couple more seasons ahead. He shares the bond with his dad.
“It’s really fun having him as a coach because I get to spend more time with him. And it’s nice, to be around him all the time because I get extra coaching and get to talk to him. It’s just a lot of fun to spend time with my dad on the court,” Rapid City Christian sophomore Noah Greni said.
In the flight one doubles match, where the Comets beat Lennox, Noah gives credit to his coaches for helping them pull through. Senior Andrew Dobbs says that despite losing the first set 6-3, perseverance is what got the duo to rally.
“We needed to get that second one. We just came out and we played our game. We were beating ourselves, not making easy shots. And in the tiebreaker when we up 9-6 I believe, and we lost those three, I looked at Noah I was like, let’s just go out there and have fun. Let’s finish these last two points,” Rapid City Christian senior Andrew Dobbs said.
As Dobbs’ finishes off his high school career, he advises the returners to keep practicing.
“You got to put in the hard work in the off season. Tennis is such a sport where you can’t just play during the season and win. And also that just mentality, if you go out there to win, you’re most likely going to win,” Dobbs said.
The Comets finished a with an team score of 584 points. Lennox was the runner-up at 420.5 points.
