Boys tennis: Strong effort from St. Viator at Carmel
It's been almost 10 years since the St. Viator varsity boys tennis team has won the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
Well, if what transpired Tuesday afternoon in Mundelein was any indicator, the Lions can at minimum consider themselves in the mix as far as being a major player in the conference race this spring.
"It's early, obviously, but we're very pleased with how we're doing. Our competitiveness within each match is what we're looking for right now," said St. Viator coach Amy Ritchie after her guys put the finishing touches on a 5-1 victory over host Carmel Catholic in the conference opener for both. "We're usually in the middle of the pack. We finished fourth last year (in conference), but this year is an excellent opportunity for us. We have a lot of experience back."
One of those experienced seniors is No. 1 singles player Kyle Borst, who outlasted Carmel Catholic senior Jonathan Paulson 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
"I got down 4-0 in the first set and just tried getting it out of my head," said Borst, who finished fifth in conference a year ago and has his sights set on making state this spring. "I just started going to the net and finishing. My serves were also pretty good today. But this should be a fun run my last year. It's nice having the experience we have. It gives us (me) a chance to help lead the younger players and show them the ropes."
Speaking of the youth movement, Jack Aiello is a name you'll be hearing plenty over the next four years.
On Tuesday, he joined forces with senior Nick Gattuso as the No. 2 doubles duo defeated Carmel Catholic's Ben Burkett and Alex Colbert, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3).
"We did a nice job and had some good winners. And some of the volleys were getting pretty good at the end," said Aiello, who will split time between playing singles and doubles this year.
"I like playing both," he said. "They feed into each other, but in doubles you have to use a broader range of shots."
Back in singles, junior Matt Firestone outlasted Carmel Catholic junior Scott Haseman in a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 barnburner in the last match of the day.
And returning to doubles, the No. 1 team of seniors Jack Neubauer and Jason Vivit cruised past Carmel Catholic's Brian Arata and Nathan Schedler 6-3, 6-2.
The Lions then made it a clean sweep in doubles when the No. 3 duo of sophomore Matt McManaman and junior Andrew Kicinski were taken to three sets before coming away with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory over Corsairs' junior Mitch LoMastro and sophomore Johans Baladad.
Freshman Mitch Whelan was the lone winner for Carmel Catholic Tuesday. He breezed by St. Viator's Tom Scully 6-3, 6-2.
"We're pretty young and have some guys up from JV but we're fighting well," said Carmel Catholic coach Chris Kannenberg, whose team is 1-2 in duals. "We're pretty tight, especially in doubles. It's close. We're just trying to find the right combinations."