By Tony Chapman – For the Nebraska School Activities Association
The NSAA State Boys Tennis Championships get underway on Thursday at Lincoln’s Woods Tennis Center with the Class B Championships on Thursday and Friday, October 17 and 18. With the weekend off, Class A will also be at Woods on Monday and Tuesday, October 21 and 22.
Two tradition-rich programs head in as overwhelming favorites on the brackets as Lincoln East (Class A) and Mount Michael Benedictine (Class B), each having the top-seed at all four positions.
The Spartans have lost just a single match between doubles and singles this year and will be looking for their fourth consecutive Class A title. The Knights will be going for their eighth title in school history which trails just Lincoln Pius X’s 13 on the all-time marks.
Matches begin at 9:00 AM each day, with championship matches at 1:00 on Friday and Tuesday. All first round matches are played in an 8-game pro set. Second round and quarterfinal matches play two six-game sets and if needed a 10-point super tiebreaker. The semifinals and finals move to best-of-3.
Matches at No. 1 singles and doubles are awarded four points/win and matches at No. 2 singles and doubles are awarded two points/win to determine team championships. Point values adjust down in the 3rd-8th place match tree.
While there is no district qualifying in tennis, the participants are seeded by a committee of coaches in each class. In Class A, 16 players/teams are seeded in each bracket by a five-member committee and in Class B, 12 are seeded by a three-member committee.
