BUCYRUS — Bucyrus tennis coach John Supon has such respect for the late Sam Sabback that he loves managing the tournament that is named in his honor almost as much as the sport itself.
Supon and his Bucyrus Lady Redmen hosted the eighth Sam Sabback Invitational Saturday at the Bucyrus Community Courts at Bucyrus High School.
“This is the eighth one but the fifth one we’ve actually played because of rain,” Supon joked. “Hopefully, the jinx is over, and we’ll be able to play more than one in a row.”
This year’s field was one of the strongest in the tournament’s history, according to Supon. Shelby was the favorite coming in and the Whippets didn’t disappoint.
Shelby had two first-place finishes and one second to total 11 points, enough to edge Galion and River Valley, which tied for second with 10 points each.
“It was a good tournament today,” Supon said. “We knew Shelby, going in, was going to be the best team, on paper, and they proved it today by winning. I thought Ontario and River Valley put in a good showing.”
Ontario finished fourth with nine points.
In first singles, Lizzie Burson of Ontario defeated Katharine Talbott of Galion, 8-3 in the final. Sophie Thompson of River Valley edged Maddie Dion of Clear Fork, 8-7, to grab third place.
Shelby’s Grace Mahek knocked off Anya Doklovic of Ontario, 8-4, to win second singles. Avery Klaiber of Pleasant slipped past Bailey Shuff of River Valley, 8-7, in the third-fourth place contest.
Third singles went to Sadie Smith of Shelby who decisioned Kajal Desai, 8-0. Faydra Barnhart of Ontario blanked Clear Fork’s Maddie Clark, 8-0, to finish third.
In first doubles, Galion’s Baughn and Chandler defeated Sharrock and Vogt of Shelby, 8-5, for the championship. Fukuta and Smalley of Upper Sandusky got by Bucyrus’ Rister and Scott, 8-7, for third place.
Second doubles went to Kaufman and Ward of River Valley who defeated Parsons and Court of Galion, 8-3. Frey and Scott of Upper Sandusky took third place with an 8-0 shutout of Bucyrus’ Schifer and Kuhn.
“It’s great we have a complex like this at Bucyrus,” It’s a tribute to the school and the city that we have such a beautiful complex and we love hosting (the tournament). It gives us a chance to show off what we have here at Bucyrus.”
Supon wants to continue the legacy of Sabback, who had a tremendous impact on tennis in the Bucyrus area.
“Sam would have been happy today to see the quality of tennis being played and all the kids playing tennis and all the fans out here watching,” Supon said. “He would have just loved it. That’s what it’s all about.”
The coach also thinks the experience for his team is invaluable, with sectional tournaments coming up in a couple of weeks.
“It gives the girls a chance to compete, play more than one match in a day, learn how to play multiple matches,” Supon said. “It’s a great training tool for us.”
Even when his coaching days are over, Supon plans to continue his involvement in the Sam Sabback Invitational.
“As long as I am able to, I’m going to run this,” Supon said. “I might not be the coach but I’m going to run it. That way, it might let the coach, coach, instead of running a tournament. It’s kind of hard to do both.”