St. Xavier tennis locks up 2026 coaches team tournament title

St. Xavier tennis is bringing home even more hardware from Lindner Family Tennis Center.

After securing the OHSAA Division I state doubles title one day earlier, St. Xavier tennis was crowned champions of the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I team tournament on May 30. The win ends a 16-year drought for the Bombers, who last claimed a team-wide title in 2009.

St. Xavier had no trouble in the semifinals, defeating University School 3-0 on the strength of singles winners Carson Dwyer and Nihal Narisetty and the second doubles unit of David Ivanov and Gus Demis. They advanced to face Olentangy Orange in the championship match after Orange’s 3-2 decision against St. John’s Jesuit.

Throughout the tournament, St. Xavier never needed all five matches to decide a contest. That trend continued as the Bombers defeated the Pioneers 3-1 to claim the championship. Dwyer and Narisetty, the pair behind the state doubles championship, each cleaned up their singles matches with ease with 6-0, 6-1 decisions. Demis and Ivanov were knocked off in two sets, but the first doubles duo of Conor Lynch and Henry Brandt sealed the deal in straight sets.

After Dwyer and Narisetty’s championship on May 29, head coach Joseph Jackson reflected on the tradition at St. Xavier.

“I came into this 10 years ago,” Jackson said, “and I stand on the shoulders of giants who came before me.”

Jackson and his team are now forever enshrined in that legacy of Bombers tennis greats as champions of the 2026 OTCA team tournament.

In the Division II team tournament happening concurrently, Indian Hill reached the finals with a 3-1 win over Pepper Pike Orange. OHSAA Division II doubles champions Neelan Gandhi and Gareth Kurowski each won their singles matches, and second doubles teammates Jeremy Starczynowski and Yousef Moussa secured a 6-3, 6-4 win to knock out the Orange.

Indian Hill faced off with Bexley in the finals. Though the Braves doubles teams got the job done, Bexley’s singles players were able to pull out three wins to take home the championship. It was Indian Hill’s third straight trip to the OTCA team tournament finals, after finishing as runner-up in 2025 and winning the title in 2024.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. Xavier tennis wins 2026 Ohio coaches team tournament