GWOC champion. Check.
Sectional champion. Check.
Kopronica added one more Saturday as he placed second in the Division I boys Southwest District tennis tournament at Centerville High School. He fell to a fellow top seed, Deepak Indrakanti, of Sycamore, 6-3, 6-1, in the championship match.
While Kopronica fell short of the district title, he did win as many games against Indrakanti as the champion’s other three district foes combined.
“His shot placement was absolutely amazing,” Kopronica said. “And his footwork is very quick.”
Indrakanti got off to a quick start as he took a 3-0 lead over Kopronica, but the Aviators’ No. 1 singles player battled back and trailed 4-3 midway through the opening set.
“I definitely got off to a slow start,” he said. “I had some chances, but he is a very smart player.”
Kopronica, who beat Sycamore’s Aditya Venkitarama 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals, became the first Butler player to qualify to the state tournament since Andy Jackson in 2009. He is certain he surprised a few players along the way.
“I’m sure a lot of people expected St. X and Sycamore in the final, but that’s not how it worked out,” he said, smiling. “Finishing second in the district is more than I ever expected.”
Sibling success: Matt and Phillip Brumbaugh decided to play the odds.
“We knew singles would be really tough. We definitely thought we’d have a better chance at doubles,” Matt said.
So the Milton-Union brothers, who played first and second singles, respectively, during the regular season, decided to team up for tournament play. It was a winning strategy as the Bulldogs are state-bound after placing second in the D-II district doubles tournament.
Matt, a senior, and Phillip, a sophomore, are following in their dad’s footsteps. Steve Brumbaugh and his younger brother John qualified to state as a Milton-Union doubles team in 1986.
The Brumbaughs made quick work of Cincinnati Country Day’s Chase Tholke and Leonard Behrens, 6-3, 6-0, in the semifinals before falling to Wyoming’s Myles Bourbon and Will Carter, 6-1, 7-5, in the finals.
“We were going really hard in the first match because we knew how important it was to come out as a 1 or 2,” Matt said.
While the Bulldogs struggled early in the championship match, they fought back in the second set after making some adjustments, including finding a way to force longer points.
While the brothers are pleased to be heading to state, they know there is still work to do. And having a father who played high school and college tennis and coached at the collegiate level means the coaching won’t end when they leave the courts.
“We live with him,” Matt said, smiling. “He will definitely have something to say.”
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