St. Viator nets comeback victory over rival Carmel

The fall used to mean football to St. Viator coach Dan Tripamer.

It especially meant Viator vs. Carmel. As a football coach, he lived for the packed stadiums, the fans' excitement, the players' intensity and the games' drama.

When he took over the Lions girls tennis program this season, his fall sport allegiance changed. But what he did keep the same was the importance of beating rival Carmel.

So when St. Viator junior Jackie Marx clinched a 4-2 win for the Lions with her No. 1 singles victory in the East Suburban Catholic Conference matchup in Arlington Heights on Tuesday, Tripamer's first words out of his mouth weren't unexpected.

"You've made me the happiest coach in the history of tennis," he said.

Early on, Carmel (3-1 ESCC) appeared as if it was going to spoil Tripamer's day. The Corsairs were up 2-1 after 3 matches and also took early leads in No. 1 and No. 2 singles over Viator (2-1 ESCC).

At No. 2 singles, Viator senior Caitlin Alden even faced a 5-2 deficit in the first set before turning her game around.

"My old coach used to tell me 5-2 is the comeback score," Alden said. "I thought, 'Why can't I come back from 5-2? I just got five in a row.' "

Alden pulled out the first set 7-5 and again came from behind late in the second set to win in a tiebreaker over Carmel's Michelle Kunkler. Alden improved to 5-0.

Marx had a similar storyline at No. 1 singles. After trailing late in the first set to the Corsairs' Lauren Aguilar, she fought back and won in a tiebreaker. Marx then dropped the second set, only to come back by overpowering Aguilar in the third set for a 6-2 win.

"The second set I think I got a little too excited," Marx said. "I wasn't focused. I needed to get back to what I was doing in the first set."

Also part of Viator's comeback was a 3-set win by its No. 1 doubles team of Callie Biasco and Jacqueline Loup. Despite playing third and fourth doubles last season, the St. Viator pair hasn't lost once this season in the No. 1 spot.

"So far, we're undefeated," Loup said. "We didn't expect that right away."

Biasco said, "We had a lot of seniors graduate. We had to step up."

Carmel coach Nancy Fehn didn't feel her team did just that on Tuesday.

"My team has a lot of spark," Fehn said. "Tonight they didn't have it. I couldn't get it started. … I wish I could blame someone else. I can only blame myself."

Carmel's Andrea Watts (No. 3 singles) and No. 3 doubles team of Christin Zizzo and Stephanie Rydel were victorious. St. Viator's No. 2 doubles team of Emily Iammarino and Claire Kushner also won.