Boys tennis: Doubles dominance lifts Prospect past Hersey

Prospect moved closer to a Mid-Suburban East boys tennis divisional title after a thrilling 4-3 victory over Hersey on Tuesday afternoon in Arlington Heights.

The Knights overcame a clean sweep at singles by the Huskies by winning all four doubles matches.

Prospect improved to 8-4-0 overall, and 2-0-0 in the division, with Wheeling, Rolling Meadows and Buffalo Grove remaining on the schedule.

"I was really proud of the effort from the boys today," said Prospect coach Brad Rathe, in his second year leading the Knights program. "This was a date we circled on our schedule last year, and we knew it would be a huge day in our season, and one that would be fun to experience. And it is clearly the biggest win in my short career."

Aidan Burke led the Huskies' charge with a three-set victory over freshman Mikey Gavrincea at No. 1 singles in a match Rathe said was fought at a high level and enjoyed by a big gallery which kept the atmosphere charged.

With the matches even at 3-3, the outcome came down to the result at No. 3 doubles,. And the Prospect duo of Nick Egea/Mike Kloser came through when their club needed it the most.

The Huskies' Jaime Pope/Dom Antony pushed the lead to 5-3, with the Knights roaring back to tie it 5-5.

Neither side budged, sending it into a third-set, winnter-take-all tiebreaker.

"Nick was lights out with his serves, and we went on to win the tiebreaker 7-1," said Rathe after Egea/Kloser won 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1).

The Knights were straight-set victors at the other three doubles, beginning with its top team of Mike Sanford and Peter Velic with a a 6-1, 6-0 triumph.

The two top teams in the MSL East will begin preparation for the prestigious Pitchford 32-team Invite that begins Friday at six area venues, including tourney host Hersey.