St. Charles East double-team works against Batavia

Batavia had the star power at the top, but St. Charles East countered with some magic of its own at doubles.

Monday afternoon in Batavia, the Saints' boys tennis team used flawless play from its four partnerships to not only sweep the doubles competition but lay the groundwork for a 5-2 dual-meet victory over the Bulldogs.

"It was nice to sweep the doubles," St. Charles East coach Rob Livermore said. "Our doubles have been touch and go for us lately. Doubles have traditionally been a strong part of the program."

At first doubles, the second set ended the same way as the first: senior partners Nick Romano and Sam Leopardo broke the service of Batavia counterparts Ethan Carlson and Kyle Stiffler to prevail 7-5, 6-4. The Saints' No. 1 tandem won 8 of the 9 points in the two deciding games to complete the doubles portion of the competition.

"We were having problems early on with double faulting," Leopardo said. "When we played the points out, we knew we could beat them."

At the other end of the spectrum, St. Charles East doubles-partners Rohit Goel and Charlie Schukas remained undefeated on the season with their straight sets 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Dave Sarver and Sean Ryan.

"The first set we were down 1-3, then we slowly caught up," Rohit said. "(Sarver and Ryan) had some good points."

"But overall we were a little better," Schukas said.

Nick Maze and David Odell began the Saints' run at second doubles by handling Batavia seniors Tyler Mabry and Martin Koput by identical scores of 6-4. Connor Davis and Sam Decker then made it a clean sweep for the Saints' doubles contingent with a 6-2 and 6-3 verdict over the Bulldogs' Luke Kuzmanic and Alex Mizikar.

"We're having a hard time winning sets, especially in doubles," Batavia coach Bob Kummer said. "This is kind of the way our matches are developing. When we get behind, things begin to steamroll. We need some wins to get some confidence back. It didn't happen today."

But the play of Batavia returning state-qualifier Josh Cogan continued without interruption. The sophomore extended his season-long winning streak to 11 matches at first singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over St. Charles East senior Paul Reiff.

"I'm most pleased with how smart I played," Cogan said. "I didn't give away many points. Most important of all (in a dual-meet setting), I want to make sure I play well. I want to feel satisfied with the way I played."

Justin Bowman put St. Charles East on the board with a 6-0, 6-2 win at second singles; Batavia senior Mick Collins' 6-2, 6-2 triumph gave the hosts a consolation victory in the final singles showdown.