Ben Davis will try to win its 20th straight sectional title this week when it hosts Covenant Christian, Cardinal Ritter and Speedway in the boys tennis sectionals. The winner will advance to the Ben Davis Regional on Oct. 6.

The Giants, 6-6 entering the week, should be well prepared after playing a strong regular-season schedule. They placed sixth in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tournament with one of their best performances under Kevin Vanderbush, who is in his third season as head coach and seventh overall.

“We had our highest point total in the history of our conference,” Vanderbush said. “Considering that there are five teams in the MIC that are ranked in the top 20, it’s a big step for Ben Davis. Hopefully, we can build on that momentum. We’ve probably lost some matches that we should have won, and I’d like for us to be a little deeper, but overall, we’ve played well.”

The Giants are led by junior Austin Collier, (6-9 at No. 1 singles entering the week) and senior Ryan Bennett (6-6 at No. 2 singles). Junior Brian Fouty has emerged and been a solid No. 3 player with a 9-6 record. Patrick Fiddler, another junior, has played No. 2 and 3 singles and on the No. 2 doubles team while compiling a 7-4 record. Senior Kevin Naaman and junior Brandon Rhodes make up the No 1 doubles team (7-8).

Advancing to the regional has been routine for Ben Davis under Vanderbush, but the competition has caught up and winning a 20th consecutive sectional won’t be easy.

“Covenant Christian always gives us a tough match, and they’ve been able to put their strengths against our weaknesses,” said Vanderbush. “It’s impossible to predict who will win. It’s going to come down to who comes out ready to play.”

Covenant Christian head coach Michael Zumbrun sees Ben Davis as the favorite, but knows that his team will be up for the challenge. Covenant lost to Ben Davis 4-1 in the regular season, but it defeated Ritter and Speedway.

“We’re 11-4 (entering the week), and it’s been a good season. We’ve relied on two seniors, but we have plenty of talented underclassmen.”

Seniors Brandon Johnson and Drew Lovern have led the way for the Warriors as the top singles players. Five sophomores and one freshman have played the remaining varsity positions.

“The future looks good for the program,” Zumbrun said. “We’ll have good numbers back next year with a more balanced team.”

Zumbrun hopes his players can use last season as a motivation while trying to dethrone the defending sectional champions.

“Last year, we beat Ben Davis in the regular season, and they turned it around and won the sectional,” he said. “This year, I thought we didn’t play very well when they beat us, so hopefully we can things around and do what they did last year.”