Neuqua Valley garners another UEC title
Depth ruled once again for Neuqua Valley at the conclusion of the Upstate Eight Conference boys tennis championships at two sites on Saturday.
The Wildcats' enjoyed a double-digit lead over their closest rival, St. Charles North, based on regular-season play, and the North Stars' three titles failed to dislodge Neuqua Valley from its customary perch.
Neuqua Valley matched the North Stars' championship output, extending its dominance in the league with 38 tournament points en route to a 17.5-point plurality over St. Charles North.
Waubonsie Valley, which boasted the No. 1 singles player in freshman Eric Marbach, was third. St. Charles East was fourth, followed by Larkin, Lake Park, Elgin, South Elgin, Bartlett, Metea Valley, East Aurora and Streamwood.
In the singles competition conducted at St. Charles East, Marbach completed his unblemished league run with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Neuqua Valley sophomore Mike Baiocchi.
"I think I played pretty well," said Marbach, who will enter the West Aurora sectional on Friday with one loss. "I was pretty confident going into my match today. (I) executed my game plan well."
Brian Glavin reversed the schools' paths at No. 2 singles to earn the Wildcats' first championship. The junior came back from a one-sided, first-set loss to Waubonsie Valley counterpart Abbi Singh to record a 1-6, 6-4 and 6-0 win.
Nick Wright became the third Neuqua Valley singles player to reach the championship match. But the sophomore fell to St. Charles North freshman Dominick Almaraj in the third singles final. Almaraj scored 7 of the 9 points in the second-set tiebreaker to complete a 6-3, 7-6 victory.
"(Almaraj) had a great win," St. Charles North coach Sean Masoncup said. "He actually lost to that kid earlier this year. He won pretty convincingly. He used his forehand as a weapon and really dictated how the points were going to go today."
The North Stars' top doubles teams were unstoppable in play at South Elgin. In back-to-back showdowns against the Wildcats' top units, the North Stars' John Mittvick and David Johnson carried the momentum gained from a first-set tiebreaker against the Wildcats' Skeeter Plowman and Patrick Carpio to capture the top doubles championship with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory.
Parker Featherstone and Danny Oakes were also up to the task in their match against the Wildcats' tandem of Tyler Wall and Andy Frandsen. The North Stars' second unit secured the No. 2 doubles crown with a straight-sets 6-4, 6-3 win.
"(The two doubles wins) were a great way to catapult into the (Lake Park) sectional," Masoncup said. "(Featherstone and Oakes) played one of their best matches they have played all year."
The North Stars' top two doubles squads are a combined 54-6 on the season.
"St. Charles North really came through in the tournament," Waubonsie Valley coach Phil Gallow said.
The schools' third and fourth partnerships also met in the finals, but Neuqua Valley would have the last say. The Wildcats' Tim Worley and Nick Anderson had few problems in a 6-3, 6-0 victory at third doubles over the North Stars' Pat Corrigan and John Terwilliger.
Kevin Eid and Mason Sass were equally brief in dispatching the North Stars' fourth duo of Connor Davis and James Reed.
Craig Cichowicz had the top consolation prize at first singles to lead Lake Park, and St. Charles East junior Justin Bowman turned back South Elgin junior Zach Bohlin in the second singles third-place match.
Eric Rappa paced Larkin with his fourth-place finish at third singles, and the Elgin partnership of Hiep Du and Mike Canovas secured third at second doubles.
Patrick Zhao, Deep Chatterjee, Zach Nygren and Mike Cioffi won consolation doubles titles for Waubonsie Valley, which has been plagued by academic issues in recent weeks.
"It's been a very frustrating year getting my (best) teams on the court," Gallow said.
South Elgin was the lone program to improve its regular-season team finish. The Storm nearly doubled the tournament points of sister school Bartlett to finish eighth.
"It was a lot of tough competition, especially at singles," South Elgin coach Jennifer Shaughnessy said. "(Our players) actually had a better showing than they did during the regular season."