Larkin tennis doubles go 3-0 at Jacobs
Larkin juniors Selwyn Hansana and Eddie Senesombath complement each other perfectly.
Actually, there isn't anyone else Senesombath could team with and have the level of success that the duo, currently 23-4 on the season, is enjoying.
"He's the only person I've worked this well with," Senesombath said. "We started playing together in seventh grade."
The duo was forced apart last season as Senesombath was unable to participate on the tennis team. Instead of focusing on the negative, Hansana has found a way to use the year off to their advantage.
"Other schools didn't even know he existed," he said. "Now they're like, who's he?" Hansana said.
The No. 1 doubles team continued their success sweeping through the competition at Saturday's boys tennis quad at Jacobs, which also included South Elgin and a junior-varsity team from Libertyville. Larkin defeated all three teams, ending the day with a 5-0 win over South Elgin.
Larkin defeated Jacobs 4-1 and swept Libertyville 5-0. Jacobs won 3-2 over South Elgin, with the Storm (3-2) and Golden Eagles (5-0) both beating Libertyville.
Hansana and Senesombath secured the sweep over Upstate Eight Conference rival South Elgin coming back from a 5-4 deficit in the second game against Zach Bolin and Lucas Tehle. The Royals' duo won 6-3, 7-5.
"They've really become students of the game," Larkin coach Bob Young said. "They really focus on doing the little things right. When you do the little things right, you tend to come out on top."
In a possible sectional preview, Hansana and Senesombath won a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Jacobs' seniors Andy Ademe and John Teuber, who are 15-6 on the season. Jacobs anticipates the chance to face the duo again.
"I'd like them to play again," Golden Eagles coach Barry Hanrahan said. "I thought it wasn't our best performance. We need to work on playing better at the net and playing smarter."
Adema and Teuber bounced back to take 6-1, 6-3 win over South Elgin's Kevin Henry and Tehle.
The seniors finished their day with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Libertyville's Brad Williams and Paul de Luca.
Larkin's Evani Prado had a strong finish. The freshman beat Jacobs' Nick Kaczar 6-0, 6-1 and Libertyville's Ajay Kuya 6-3, 6-2. Prado finished his day teaming with Sterling Perez to take a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 3 doubles over the Storm's Ivan Abadines and Vliseys Hernandez.
No. 1 singles player Nick Schlegel went 3-0 Saturday for Larkin as well. He defeated Jacobs' Tom Schreiner 6-0, 6-0, Libertyville's John Cordan 6-1, 6-1 and Henry 6-2, 6-0.