Doubles provides bright spot for St. Charles East, Geneva
Saturday's St. Charles East Invite got off to a late start as soggy weather got in the way and forced coaches to lower their expectations.
"The way things looked this morning we were just hoping we could get one round in," St. Charles East coach Rob Livermore said.
As it turned out, they managed to get all of the matches in, and the result was an opportunity for both the Saints as well as Geneva to earn some success against a tough tournament field.
"This is a very good invite," Geneva coach Peter Burkhardt said. "I was pleased with my players' effort and the way they were able to come back in some of their matches."
Both teams captured their biggest victories on the doubles side, topped by St. Charles East's second place finish by Bryan McNally and David Odell at No. 2.
"They've gone through a tough stretch," Livermore said. "They had a good match on Thursday and then played well today, and it was good to see that."
McNally and Odell began their day with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Wheaton Academy's Grant Terrill and Michael Thrasher, then survived a tough second set against Dan Pozen and John Cordan of Libertyville, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), before losing in the finals to Glenbard West's Mike Malone and Filip Pacyna.
Geneva captured both third place doubles matches, beginning with one of the day's best at No. 1.
Filip Ivkovic and Colin Rapp gave the Vikings their biggest win, outlasting Sam Leopardo and Nick Romano of St. Charles East, 6-3, 4-6, 10-6, in a back and forth match, in which each point threatened to give the edge to one team or the other.
"They came out firing, but we played well in the first set," Rapp said.
The Viking duo appeared to be in control after winning the opening set, but that all changed and it was back to square one going into the tie-breaker.
"We couldn't fool around, because anything can happen in a tie-breaker," Ivkovic said. "It could've gone in any direction."
Geneva's No. 2 doubles team of Ryan Barnard and Peter Legrand bounced back from a brutal first set to beat Pozen and Cordan in the third place match, 1-6, 6-3, 10-8.
"They had a very nice comeback," Burkhardt said. "They were focused and played with some consistency in the second set. That's what turned it around for them."
The news was not quite as good on the singles side, though Wes Adelman and Kevin Potts each picked up a win for Geneva.
Glenbard West dominated the invite and claimed the team title with 16 overall points. Matt Hirsh led the way for the Hilltoppers, beating Rockford Guilford's Danny Park, 7-5, 6-4 in the no.1 singles final.
"I got the break early in the first set and was able to stay ahead," Hirsh said.
The Saints and Vikings finished tied at 6 team points each.