Marc Thomas always has his New Albany boys tennis team prepared for big matches by lining up top-notch competition throughout the season.

That strategic scheduling is one factor in the Eagles winning six consecutive district championships en route to the Ohio Tennis Coaches Association Division I state tournament. They finished third in the four-team state at home, defeating Findlay 3-1 in the consolation dual after falling to eventual champion Cincinnati Sycamore 3-0 in a semifinal.

“When scheduling we are trying to expose the players to as much stress as possible and put them in those situations,” said the 10th-year coach, whose team started 3-0 before playing Grove City in the OCC-Ohio Division opener April 11. “We don’t take it for granted that going to the final four the last six years is high for our program. We want to put ourselves in the position to be playing really well at the end. That means having really tough matches early on.

“Last year we played Mason and Sycamore, and we weren’t able to play them this year. But we have St. (Xavier), (Pepper Pike) Orange and Columbus Academy, which are really good teams. Testing yourself before you get to the big matches is a huge piece of what has made us successful over the last few years.”

The Eagles opened April 3 with a 4-1 home victory over Bexley, which finished third in the Division II OTCA team tournament last spring by defeating Lexington 3-2 in the consolation final at Upper Arlington. The Lions were playing without a pair of singles players in Austin Flamm and Stefan Schiff, who were battling illness.

Bexley started the season with wins over Upper Arlington (4-1 on March 28), Dublin Jerome (4-1 on March 30) and Lexington (3-2 on March 31) before falling to Massillon Jackson (4-1 on April 1) and New Albany. It won its MSL-Ohio opener against Worthington Christian 5-0 on April 4 and was 6-2 overall before playing Academy on April 11 in the league.

“Our goal is to win the league, win the district and reach the final four but obviously to do that you need to beat (Columbus) Academy and Wellington,” said third-year Bexley coach Will Gingery, whose team defeated Academy 3-2 in a district final last year. “I could really care less what our record is in a season but I would like our kids to play as many matches as possible that would simulate those matches at the district and state level.

“These kids want to play tough matches so we do it. If I wanted to win 20 matches a year, I would schedule differently. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about getting the experience and getting our kids ready.”

Flamm and Schiff qualified as a team at the Division II state individual tournament last spring, going 1-1.

“I like (the tough schedule) because the one thing I have struggled with is being intimidated by oncoming matches,” Schiff said. “It can get a little tough but when you have matches like that every day you get used to it.”

New Albany defeated Dublin Jerome 3-2 to reach the OTCA semifinals. Celtics coach Jeremy Mokry also has the same mindset with scheduling for his team. Playing top competition early can equate to later season success.

“I like to schedule as many tough teams as I can, especially the local ones,” Mokry said. “It helps show what the team is made of and how they will respond to it. When you play tough teams, you have to overcome some adversity and challenges. It tests them both physically and mentally as well

“I like to see what we’re made of and how we stack up against the better teams in the area. There are definitely plenty of those. We play New Albany, Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Orange, Olentangy, Upper Arlington and Bexley is a good team. These teams are tough and will be great tests for us.”

The Celtics have a young squad, which was 2-3 overall before opening OCC-Cardinal play April 11 against Thomas Worthington.

“We had a lot of seniors last year and that helped us reach the district final,” said Jerome senior singles player Max Stratford, a Wooster recruit. “This year we have tough matches that will help the younger players get up to the level that they need to be at.”

Senior Dhruv Chavan plays third singles with sophomores Jackson Clements and Abhi Dandu on the first and second courts, respectively. He said the Eagles’ team camaraderie is built through early difficult matches.

“I think we are losing pretty good as a team,” he said. “Together we know each other on and off the court. We know each others ups, and downs and we can connect and push each other forward.”

Thomas likes the makeup of his squad and expected them to continue to grow, putting them in position for yet another chance at a district championship.

“We have a good balance on this team of the younger players and the veteran leadership,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to improve more during the season than anyone else. If we can do that then we’ll definitely be in position to have have opportunities we have had in the past.”