Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Noah Black has seen the highs and lows of LaGrange High tennis during his four-year stretch with the team. The senior is now on a quest with the No. 1 ranked LaGrange team to win the first state title in program history. 

“It was mentioned before the season, but that was kind of like a subject that was hands off. Don’t mention it,” Black said. “And then the closer we got to playoffs, the more it was brought up, especially in those practices after we won the region, it’s like we’ve got a target on our back. We’re the one seed. Teams are going to start coming for us, so we have to be focused every match if we are to go all the way.”

Black is firmly entrenched alongside Jaehan Seol as the No. 2 doubles pairing. The duo was paired together after the first few matches of last season, and now they are helping to lead the way as the Grangers hunt a state championship.

“He doesn’t really show his anger. He’s kind of down-to-earth. So I know I can get a little emotional, and that can cause some strife at times, but he always keeps me grounded,” Black said. 

Doubles was not always where Black found himself in the Granger lineup. Originally, Black was a single player for his first two seasons and even at the beginning of his junior year. He always had a desire to play doubles and eventually won over head coach Kenny Moore.

“I have told Coach Moore that I’ve wanted to play doubles for years, but I was needed at No. 2 singles my first two years, so I took the call,” he said. 

The transition from singles to doubles was seamless for Black. The Granger senior is better able to find his rhythm on the court with a partner lined up next to him.

“I prefer to play doubles,” Black said. “I just need somebody to get me out of my own mind and I also like to play up at the net more, which is easier to do in doubles.”

The LaGrange tennis team is a family affair for Black. The senior’s younger brother, Ethan, is the team’s no. 1 singles player.

“It’s certainly an experience,” Black said, laughing. “Of course we butt heads about anything under the face of the sun sometimes, but I’m glad we get to share this experience and I really hope he sticks with this team and keeps elevating them.”

Ethan was involved with tennis before Black. When baseball was not working out for Black in his youth, he decided to try out tennis and fell in love with the sport instantly.

“I used to play baseball, but the environment wasn’t exactly what my parents wanted, so we moved to tennis, which my brother was playing, and it is just a little more civil,” Black said. “Tennis has been my whole life for 10 years now.”