Neuqua Valley nabs UEC crown
Make it eight straight for the Neuqua Valley boys tennis team.
After sweeping the doubles circuit and winning two of the three singles title matches, the Wildcats earned their eighth consecutive Upstate Eight Conference championship Saturday afternoon in Naperville.
Neuqua Valley posted a total conference score of 103, and its 38 tournament points paced all other schools.
According to Neuqua Valley coach Trudy Bennorth, winning the conference tournament never loses its luster.
"We're really happy," Bennorth said. "I never, ever take it for granted, and we always work hard for the process."
Junior Chase Perry and sophomore Skeeter Plowman led the Wildcats' doubles charge, defeating St. Charles North's David Johnson and Christian Hoskey 6-2, 6-1 in the first-doubles championship.
"I think it just helped playing them earlier in conference. That was one of our first matches, so we just knew where their weaknesses were and kept going at them," Plowman said. "We just kept bringing them up and putting volleys away.
"We played a real bad first match, and we just wanted to come out and redeem ourselves."
Though Johnson and Hoskey held their own against the Neuqua Valley pair during the regular season, the first-doubles runners-up gave credit to Plowman and Perry for improving their game when it mattered most.
"They kept hitting it right at our feet a lot, so it was a little frustrating," Johnson said. "The last time we played them it was a little closer, but they were hitting really good shots today. They were really feeling it."
North Stars coach Tim Matacio acknowledged that while winning conference isn't everything, it remains a considerable goal for his program.
"It's always a goal," he said. "Conference is a year-round thing. Sectionals is just a weekend, state is just a weekend, so in that sense, conference has more importance."
Waubonsie Valley's Mandela Shepherd earned the first-singles championship 6-4, 6-1. Neuqua Valley's Jose Cadena and Brian Glavin took medals at the second and third levels, respectively.
St. Charles North finished second with 89 points, followed by Waubonsie Valley (82), Lake Park (63.5) and Bartlett (56).
The Saints from St. Charles East claimed sixth place with 44.5 points, followed by Larkin (31.5), Elgin (30), Streamwood (25.5), South Elgin (23.5) and East Aurora (9).