TROY — The waiting truly was the most difficult part for the Troy doubles team of senior Henry Johnston and freshman Yasashi Masunaga at the Division I sectional tournament at Troy City Park and Troy High School Wednesday.

After defeating Reese Hiller-Freund and Owen Dooley of Springfield 6-2, 6-2 in their opening match in the morning, the duo had to wait until 5 p.m. to get back on the court against Tristan Gulley and Brandon Holbert of Fairborn.

“It was about seven hours,” Troy coach Mark Goldner said. “So, I knew it was going to be a little rough at first, but then they showed what they could do.”

The second seeds won 6-3, 6-0 to earn a spot in the district tournament.

They will face third seeds Seth Nichols and Ryan Hartke of Tippecanoe in the semifinals Saturday morning at Troy High School.

“Henry (Johnston) is a really good player at the net and Yasashi (Masunaga) is very consistent. I am glad they get the opportunity to play at district. Seeding is always very important because the Cincinnati sectionals are really strong.”

Troy had a very successful season with a young team, finishing second in the MVL behind Tippecanoe.

On Wednesday, they ran into some tough matches.

In doubles, Michael Burns and Leo Gluck lost to Bellefontaine’s Abe and Noah Burhanna 6-2, 6-1.

In singles, Troy Whitehead defeated Carla Guzman of Tecumseh 6-0, 6-0 before losing to fourth seed Cameron Davis of Tippecanoe 6-1, 6-0.

Cam Lambardo lost to Kaden Abbott of Sidney 6-1, 6-1 and Nathan Miller lost to Grant Vonderheide of Tippecanoe 6-1, 6-0.

TIPPECANOE

The Tippecanoe boys tennis team continued to impress under coach Kaci Matthews.

After another perfect season in the MVL, the Red Devils advance two singles players and two doubles teams on to the district tournament.

“I am so proud of these guys,” Matthews said. “They have put the work in to perfect their craft. Their success doesn’t happen by accident. They have worked hard perfecting their craft.”

In singles, second seed Kessler Hackenberger and fourth seed Cameron Davis cruised into the semifinals.

Hackenberger defeated Gabe Valasquez of Springfield 6-0, 6-0; defeated Ahmad Rogers of Trotwood-Madison 6-1, 6-0 and defeated Reese Ferrell of Northmont 6-0, 6-0.

After defeating Whitehead in his first match, Davis defeated Reuben Velasco of Butler 6-2, 6-3 and Stephen Peters of Northmont 6-4, 6-2.

Grant Vonderheide opened with the win over Miller before losing to third seed Sam Steck of Fairborn 6-0, 3-6, 6-0.

Both Tipp doubles teams advanced as well.

Aaron Davis and Luke Blake, the top seeds, defeated Nolan Baker and Olan Lobianco of Butler 6-2, 6-4 and the Burhannas of Belleofontaine 6-0, 6-3.

Seth Nichols and Ryan Hartke defeated Drew Phillips and Trey Taylor of Bellefontaine 6-0, 6-1 and Kristof Manni and Charlie Stiver of Butler 7-5, 6-2.

“The work that we put in this season got us to district,” Matthews said. “Now, what we do Saturday will determine what we can do at district. A lot of these guys are returning players. We will celebrate for a day. Then, we will be right back focusing on getting ready for Saturday.

PIQUA

The Piqua boys tennis team under coach Wyatt Heinz continues to show the promise for a bright future.

Freshman Joshua Partee, who played first singles all season, defeated Conley New 6-0, 6-0 before losing to Steck 6-1, 6-3.

“We went there because we had a three set match with the guy during the season,” Heinz said. “And we knew that basically, whoever won the match would go on to district. Joshua (Partee) was 5-9 this season. That is a really good year.”

Piqua ran into some tough opponents Wednesday.

PJ Huang defeated Jason Hampton of Trotwood-Madison 6-0, 7-5 before losing to top seed Grant Hoying of Sidney 6-0, 6-0.

Cael Barr lost to Abbott 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

In doubles, Ayden Black and Seth Staley lost to Nathan Tackett and Thienminh Truong of Stebbins 6-3, 6-3 and Seth Foster nad Phillip Rossman lost to Gulley and Holbert of Fairborn 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

“We finished 5-9, which is our best record since 2,000 at least,” Heinz said. “I think there is a lot to be excited about with this program.”

Piqua was coming off a 3-2 win over Celina Tuesday.

In singles, Partee won 7-6, 6-2; Barr lost 6-2, 6-4 and Huang lost 6-3, 6-1.

In doubles, Foster and Rossman won 6-3, 6-2 and Seth Staley and Black won 7-5, 7-5.