St. Charles North repeats title
St. Charles North needed every set, game and point to repeat as champs at Saturday’s West Aurora Invite, and thanks to a gritty win at third doubles the North Stars squeezed out a 3-2 win over Glenbard West in the finals.
The Hilltoppers evened the team score at 2-2 after Jacob Koch battled through a persistent challenge from Grant Spellman to win the No. 2 singles match 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11-9).
That turned all eyes to the third doubles match, the only one still on the courts. Glenbard West’s Kenny Reick and Jack Kellenberger began the match by quickly dispatching John Terwilliger and Eli McCray in the first set, 6-0.
“At the start of the match we were shooting ourselves in the foot,” Terwilliger said. “They were paying really well, and we kept hitting the ball into the net.”
The St. Charles North duo began to find their rhythm midway through the second set, but Reick and Kellenberger continued to play an aggressive style of tennis, forcing the North Stars to earn every point.
“Glenbard West always has a good team, their coach does a great job with his kids, and we knew it would be tough against them,” St. Charles North coach Sean Masoncup said.
The North Stars won the second set, 6-4, setting up a tiebreaker to determine the winner. If that wasn’t motivation enough, Terwilliger and McCray received even more incentive as the set began.
“We realized that we were the last match, so we picked it up,” McCray said.
With their teammates cheering them on, Terwilliger and McCray broke a 7-7 tie by winning the next 3 points to clinch the match and the invite title.
“The key was being aggressive and going to the net, that’s what our coach told us to do,” Terwilliger said.
John Mittvick and Danny Oakes got off to a fast start against Max Mueller and Sam Young at No. 1 doubles, and never slowed down, winning the match 6-0, 6-0.
“They were a good team and they played well,” Oakes said. “The wind was tough, so we had to be a little more patient than we normally are.”
Parker Featherston and Josh Corrigan turned in a similar performance at No. 2, sweeping Casey Covi and Calvin Weeks, 6-0, 6-1.
“We had to make sure that we kept our focus, moved our feet, and stayed positive,” Featherston said.
The Hilltoppers got an impressive performance from Matt Hirsch, who succeeded in fighting the heavy wind and a determined effort from Dominick Amalraj to win the top singles match, 6-1, 6-2.
“By the end of the day you start to get tired, so it’s important to stay focused on the match,” Hirsch said. “I came out with a little more energy, got an early lead and was able to keep that lead.”
Glenbard West’s Jacob Koch won the first set over Grant Spellman, 6-4, and appeared to be in control of the No. 2 singles match. But Spellman won the second set, 6-3, and pushed Koch in the tie-breaker before the Glenbard West sophomore finally put it away, 10-7.
“I was happy with the way Jacob responded in those situations today where matches are on the line and he had to hold tough,” Glenbard West coach Jim Vallesky said. “This was good learning experience for him.”
It was the second year in a row that St. Charles North beat Glenbard West in the finals.
After beating Timothy Christian by a 4-1 score in the opening round, the North Stars reached the finals by squeaking past Marmion, 3-2, in the semis as they dominated the top spots on both the singles and doubles lineups.
“We started off pretty slowly against Marmion,” Masoncup said. “We got on a little bit of a roll in our second sets. Overall I was really proud of how we played in that match.”
Almaraj beat Marmion’s Kevin Moss, 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, while Mittvick and Oakes swept Will Graft and Jackson Rettig, 6-4, 6-2 in the top doubles match.
“We just played our game and took it to them,” Mittvick said.
The North Stars also won the second doubles match as Featherston and Corrigan survived a first set challenge from Chris Patterman and Jon Graft, then cruised in the second for a 6-4, 6-1 win.
“They were tough, but with the wind today it was more us vs. nature,” Corrigan said.
The Cadets claimed the two tightest individual matches, as Lucas Wilson out dueled Eli McCray, 7-6, 6-4 at second singles, and Reid Weigelman and Dan DiBartolo beat Terwilliger and Spellman by the same scores at No. 3 doubles.
“That was a really tough match, but we showed a lot of heart with the way we fought through,” DiBartolo said. “My serve was on today, and Reid was playing well at the net, so we were able to really work together.”
Despite the tough loss, the young Cadets, who began their day by beating West Aurora 5-0, could be satisfied with their performance, and coach John Tsang saw a lot that he liked.
“We came out here early and started strong,” Tsang said. “We got on top of West Aurora and didn’t let go. That was a really nice win.”
Glenbard West began its day with a 5-0 win over Hampshire, then slipped past Geneva, 3-2, as Hirsch beat West Adelman, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 singles, Weeks and Covi survived a second set challenge from Tyler Livingston and Kevin Potts to take the second doubles match, 6-2, 7-5, and Reick and Kellenberger beat Reid Chlasta and Mark Kennedy, 6-4, 6-4, in a No. 3 doubles match that was as close as the scores suggest.
“Geneva was a tough team and we had to play really well to get by them,” Vallesky said.
The Vikings got wins from Nick Huanga who beat Koch 6-1, 6-4 at second singles, and Colin Rapp and Ryan Doeckel who swept Mueller and Young, 6-4, 6-3.
Marmion, which came into the invite undefeated, was awarded third place after Geneva was unable to play the match due to other commitments. St. Charles East bounced back from a tough 3-2 loss to Geneva in the opening round to beat Hampshire and Timothy Christian, and finish fifth overall. The host Blackhawks won their final match of the day, sweeping Hampshire for a seventh-place finish.