St. Charles N. caps perfect River record
Tuesday’s Upstate Eight season finale between St. Charles East and St. Charles North featured a lot of talented tennis players, some rare nice weather, and a sense of rivalry between the two teams.
The only thing it was lacking was drama.
Each of the seven matches was over and done with in straight sets as the North Stars (15-2, 6-0) rode their doubles teams to a 5-2 win.
Danny Oakes has provided the senior leadership the North Stars need this season and, teamed up with Dominick Amalraj, formed the area’s top doubles tandem.
“Our goal all year has been to win all of the doubles matches, and then snag a win or two at singles,” Oakes said. “A lot of the younger guys have really stepped up big for us this year.”
Oakes and Amalraj (21-1) grabbed a quick lead in their No. 1 match against Connor Davis and Mike Muir, and ran away with the first set, 6-1.
“It always feels good to beat East,” Oakes said. “It was nice to go out there and get a quick win, then have our team win, too.”
The duo then turned in an even stronger set 2, dominating the Saints, 6-0.
“We just tried to have the same approach in the second set that we had in the first,” Amalraj said.
St. Charles East might have let one get away in the second doubles match as Bradley Sullivan and Matt McCarthy jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first set.
But that’s when Grant Spellman and Bobby Dunteman kicked their game up a notch, and battled back to win the set, 7-6.
“(Spellman and Dunteman) started out slowly and were missing some shots,” St. Charles North coach Sean Masoncup said. “They really pulled it together, and I was very proud of how they came back. When they get their first serves in and hit their shots they’re an extremely tough team to beat.”
The momentum from that comeback win carried over to the second set, which the North Star duo won 6-2.
Their teammates, Eli McCray and Eric Pashman, had an easier time at third doubles, beating Matt DeSantis and Dan Rasmussen, 6-3, 6-2.
St. Charles North completed the doubles sweep as Cam Staroske and Mitch Riggs won a back-and-forth match over George Spoerl and Chris Gicla, 6-3, 6-3.
“We knew at the start of the season that we had some very good doubles teams, and so we decided to work on building those teams,” Masoncup said. “The guys have really worked hard to get here, to finish with a perfect, 6-0, conference record.”
But as strong as the North Stars have been on the doubles side this season, the Saints have gone into most matches with a one-two punch at the top of their singles lineup that’s among the best around.
Jasper Koenen improved to 14-1 by making fast work of John Cherry at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0.
“I started out strong and played well the whole match,” Koenen said. “My serves were consistent and my ground strokes were really good today.”
Justin Bowman was equally impressive at second singles, as he dominated his match against Peter O’Brien, 6-1, 6-0.
“We knew it would be tough today, but Jasper and Justin looked great,” St. Charles East coach Rob Livermore said.
With the win Bowman improved to 19-1 on the season, which includes a 4-1 record at No. 1 singles.
“Justin has played extremely well and he’s having a great season,” Livermore said. “He’s dictating the pace of the match, finishing his points sooner, and not letting opponents get back into it once he has a big lead.”
The North Stars salvaged a singles win at No. 3 as Keith Hedges survived a tough first set, then roared through the second to beat Thomas Na, 7-5, 6-2.
“After I won the first set I felt more confident,” Hedges said. “Working from side to side and getting (Na) moving was helpful.”
With the win, the North Stars will go into this weekend’s Upstate Eight River Division tournament as the team to beat.