St. Charles East's depth sinks St. Charles North

St. Charles East's girls tennis team may not feature any top-32 individual players this season but depth appears to be on its side.

Thanks to a singles sweep from Olivia Gapuz, Kelsey Straumann and Haley Jeanes, the Saints (8-5, 4-1) scored a decisive 5-2 triumph over cross-town rival St. Charles North (5-5, 2-3) in their annual Upstate Eight Conference River Division dual match Tuesday afternoon at St. Charles East.

Gapuz, a sophomore, got things started for the Saints with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over the North Stars' Julia Nickolson at first singles.

"I think my forehand was doing really well today and patience really helped me," said Gapuz, who wasted little time during the 25-minute match. "I came in and just did my best."

Thrust into the top singles spot for the Saints, Gapuz has found herself on the opposite end at times this season.

"She has had a rough week because she has been playing some top-32 kids," said Saints coach Matt Bulman. "It's tough because she has been getting beat up but then she has had days like today."

Gapuz feels her game improving with every match.

"I've grown as a tennis player since the season started," said Gapuz. "I feel like each time I play I'm learning something now."

Seniors Straumann and Jeanes earned straight-set victories over the North Stars' Maddie Murray and Kate Boeke at second and third singles, respectively.

The Saints also received a big lift from their final 2 doubles positions.

At third doubles, juniors Sonia Ost and Jenna Patzner teamed up for a 6-2, 6-4 win over the North Stars' Sarah Oshana and Breanne Warner.

At fourth doubles, seniors Grace Esler and Jessica Kathe combined for a 6-1, 7-5 victory over St. Charles North's Makenzie Solomon and Jordan Blonski.

Kathe, who has played more singles lately, enjoyed her second straight day at doubles paired with Esler.

"I've played with Grace at fourth doubles a few times," said Kathe, who was pleased with her team's cross-town triumph. "It was an important match for us. I think it gives us a little more pride, especially since we're pretty much a new team this year."

"I was happy with our depth," said Bulman. "For our third and fourth doubles to come out like that against North and win pretty solidly - that was exciting."

The North Stars displayed their strength in the first 2 doubles spots, as Morgan Rerko and Brittany Rohrsen won 6-3, 6-3 over Jaci Spoerl and Paige Ackerman in the No. 1 slot while Emma Spellman and Lianne Anderson combined for a straight-set victory over the Saints' second doubles pairing of Emily Hautzinger and Katie Downing.

"It definitely wasn't our best match," said Rerko, who teamed with Rohrsen for a second-place doubles finish at Saturday's Oswego Invite. "Playing East is always a mental thing. I think that was kind of in our heads today. We made a few unforced errors that didn't need to be there."

Despite Rerko's assessment, Bulman was impressed with the play of the North Stars' top doubles teams.

"I was a little upset about the one and two doubles play because that's our sectional chances right there," he said. "They really handed it to us."

North Stars coach Eve Tubman felt consistency was the difference in the match.

"East was definitely the more consistent team today and we were a little shaky," she said. "At singles, we're learning. The more experience they get, the better they're going to get."