Twin Valley boys tennis made program history on Monday.
The Raiders won their first county title, defeating Wilson 3-1 in the BCIAA team tournament championship match at Laureldale.
“It’s great,” Raiders coach Joe Alessandrini said. “We worked so hard all year.”
Twin Valley won the title behind a trio of wins in singles play from senior Jackson Bonds, senior Charles Beebe and freshman Dylan Bonds. Three points was all the Raiders needed to clinch the title, which was played in a format that featured three singles matches and two doubles matches being played simultaneously.
Jackson Bonds defeated Bulldogs junior Will Hill 6-2, 6-0. A four-year starter and 2021 All-Berks selection for the Raiders, Jackson Bonds said he has seen the program grow into a title contender over the past four years.
“Not many people even knew we had a tennis team, and now we’re county champions,” Jackson Bonds said. “It’s awesome.”
Jackson’s brother, Dylan Bonds, defeated Wilson junior Ben Winkler 6-1, 6-0. In their lone season as high school teammates, both Jackson and Dylan said it was meaningful to win the county championship with one another.
“It was awesome,” said Dylan Bonds, a freshman. “I’ve always dreamed of a big tournament win or a big county win, and this is it.”
Beebe defeated Bulldogs sophomore Jason Kaufmann 6-2, 6-2. After attending cyber school for his first three years of high school, Beebe returned to in-person learning for his senior year and earned a win in the county final in his lone season of high school tennis.
“It feels amazing,” Beebe said. “It doesn’t feel real.”
Wilson scored its lone point in doubles, as sophomore Austin Kohler and junior Jay Khamar beat seniors Austin Rutherford and Luke Bailey 6-2, 6-2. The other doubles match featuring Bulldogs sophomore Gavin Siravo and freshman Griffin Saar against Twin Valley seniors Carson Kane and Brendan Gallagher was not completed, as the Raiders already had clinched the championship.
Last year, when the Raiders went 6-5, was the program’s first winning season since it returned in 2005 for the first time since the early 1980s. Still, the team had high expectations.
Twin Valley (13-0) won the Berks I title with a 4-3 win over Wilson (9-6) in its final regular season match, then beat defending champ Conrad Weiser 3-0 in the semifinals before Monday’s victory.
“It’s big,” Beebe said. “We made history.”
