By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

KOKOMO – As much as NorthWood senior Ben Vincent has accomplished in his high school tennis career, he’s currently playing in uncharted waters.

NorthWood’s Ben Vincent will take on Charles Behrman of Muncie Burris this weekend at the Kokomo Tennis Regional. InkFreeNews file photo by Mike Deak

Vincent won his first individual sectional title of his career last week, beating opponents from Elkhart and Jimtown to earn his first personal postseason match accolade. After playing as a No. 2 singles player the past two seasons, Vincent moved up to No. 1 after Wes Troyer graduated last spring. In IHSAA play, only No. 1 singles and doubles courts can advance in the individual tournament, so Vincent was resigned to whatever his teams did.

As a junior, Vincent was 25-0 and won all of those contests in straight sets. Moving to 2020, Vincent has virtually maintained his dominant run as a player. The senior ace is 22-2 on the season, which includes a 4-0 run in the postseason. His only shortcomings came against Penn’s Will Thurin and Westview’s Isaiah Hostetler, both aces on teams that played deep into the state tournament.

Vincent’s fall résumé includes a third straight Northern Lakes Conference singes championship, adding a No. 1 blue ribbon to a pair of No. 2 blue ribbons. But in playing against largely familiar sets of players, that will shift dramatically. Vincent is paired against Muncie Burris’ Charles Behrman in the Kokomo Regional this Saturday. The two have never faced each other.

“Playing my opponents multiple times throughout the year gives me an opportunity to get a feel for the kind of style they play and understand their game a little bit better,” noted Vincent. “As I play them in the tournament, since we have already played before, it is vital for me to lock in mentally and bring my best to the table every single night so I can be prepared for anything that could happen in the match that night.”

NorthWood coach Tif Schwartz has seen Vincent continue to improve, even after an undefeated junior campaign.

“I think his experience these last couple of years to play with some strong teammates that pushed him have helped his transition tremendously,” Schwartz said. “He is continually looking at ways to make his game stronger or better and I think coming into this season, he did that by improving a few different aspects of his game in the off season.”

The regional round at Kokomo will see a four-player individual pod, with Vincent and Behrman meeting opposite Noah Bushong of Noblesville and Kush Anand of Fort Wayne Canterbury. The two semi-final matches start at 10 a.m., the winners coming back at 2 p.m. for the regional championship.

Other area players competing at Kokomo include the Northridge doubles team of Evan Nay and Aaron Cripe, paired against Ryan Scott and Riley Fuqua of Mississinewa.

At the LaPorte Regional, Manchester’s Brady Wiley will meet Chesterton’s Fabio Haiduc and the Culver Academy doubles team of Nate Posner and Paul Wilson will take on LaPorte’s Carson Stalbaum and Liam Wolf.

For Vincent, this weekend becomes a chance to set his sights on something bigger. But those who know Vincent, it’s another chance to put in some more work.

“Honestly, when I look at myself as a tennis player, I still see lots of room for improvement and growth,” Vincent said. “There are so many aspects of my game that I could improve on and make better, and each day I try to work hard and improve to become even better than I was the day before. I feel very blessed to play this game and want to utilize my talents and abilities to the best of my potential.”