Motivated Neuqua Valley overcomes Naperville North

Neuqua Valley's Jackson Keating and Hayden Sass got a little lesson in humility in their first-doubles boys tennis match on Wednesday.

After winning the first set 6-4 over Naperville North's Rohit Rastogi and Jake Kokoris, the Neuqua duo took a 6-1 beating in the second set.

They went on to win the match in a fiercely contested third set 7-6 (7-2) to give the Wildcats (13-0) a 5-3 win in the nonconference dual meet against visiting Naperville North (7-3).

"We got overconfident," Sass said. "But then we were extra motivated to come back and win the third set."

"After the first set we thought we had the match," Keating said. "But we weren't getting to the net enough. The third set was really close with the momentum switching back and forth. Their serving was unbelievable."

Keating and Sass were down 30-love in the final game of the third set, then rallied to win the game and take it to the tiebreaker.

Keating qualified for state as a freshman last year with another partner, but he's feeling good about this year's work with Sass, who has come all the way up from fifth doubles in a year.

"Hayden has really stepped up his game this year," Keating said. "I think we can do well at state. Our net game is really strong. My serve off the backhand works well in combination with his ability to finish. And we're really successful working out of the I formation."

"We communicate well on the court," Sass said. "We also have the ability to read each other and anticipate where the other guy is going."

Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth was happy with the way her first-doubles team closed at the net, but she was also impressed with the boys' mental game.

"They're both very athletic," Bennorth said. "But the thing that I liked today is that when they got upset they could work together and cool each other down."

Bennorth is generally happy with the way her team is playing with the postseason just a little more than a week away.

Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen was pleased by the showing of Rastogi and Kokoris.

"We knew it would be close at one (doubles)," Henricksen said. "We were strong throughout, but unfortunately we didn't finish the tiebreaker strong. Too many double faults, too many unforced errors. And the Neuqua boys came up with the big shots when they needed them. It was a nice win for them."

Henricksen is happy with the way Kokoris' net game is developing given that it's his first year in the doubles lineup.

"Jake and Rohit are improving with every match," Henricksen said. "They're coming together as a team mentally. They've played a lot of three-setters."