Advantage to WW South in DVC rivalry
The Wheaton Warrenville South boys tennis team got an extra bonus in its first DuPage Valley Conference win of the season, beating cross-town rival Wheaton North 5-2.
The Tigers (3-1, 1-0) swept in doubles and split in singles with the help of sophomore Charlie McDonough in the No. 1 spot, who defeated Wheaton North senior Buchie Ros 6-0, 6-0.
"I wasn't really nervous. I just thought about trying to play my best and regardless of the result as long as I played my best it's all right," McDonough said of the rivalry match. "I played well. Didn't really serve the best but my ground strokes were good. The kid I played was good. I just thought I had a better day."
Tigers coach Patti Clousing has seen a lot of improvement to McDonough in the off-season.
"Charlie has just gotten more consistent," Clousing said. "(He has) more power, and his shot selection that he has. He has so many different weapons and he's got great sense of when to use them too… . He's going to have a great season.
The Falcons (2-5, 0-1) split singles play thanks to juniors Jacob Brink and Clay Corse.
Brink defeated Thomas Ottolin in the No. 2 spot 6-1, 6-3 while Corse beat Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-4 in the No. 3 spot.
Despite the split the lack of experience in doubles really hurt the Falcons.
"We're still kind of figuring out team chemistry and especially at doubles," said Wheaton North coach Eric Laird. "We're pretty deep at singles, doubles positions we're still having to grow. A lot of guys that really haven't spent a lot of time playing together so they are still figuring all that out… . It's a work in progress with all of that."
In No. 1 doubles Wheaton Warrenville South junior Zach Orlove and senior Connor Foley handed Nathan Houlihan and Nick Wojtynn a 6-1, 6-1 loss.
The Tigers won No. 2 doubles 6-1, 6-0 and No. 3 doubles 6-3, 6-0.
"Doubles is just a lot of fun to coach and watch," Clousing said. "Watching our players, we have a very athletic group playing doubles this year and … they rely on that athleticism and they have great court sense. They put it all together today."