Reiff leads Saints to big win

St. Charles East's boys tennis team remains a something of a work in progress, but coach Sena Drawer is pleased with how things are progressing.

The Saints have shown improvement, especially at the top, but also throughout the lineup. No. 1 singles, Paul Reiff has had some success despite having to play through a bout of tennis elbow.

"He's struggling with that a little right now," Drawer said. "Paul's been a bit up and down as he's adjusted to being in the top singles spot, but he's really starting to come along."

Reiff led his team to a big dual match win last week as he beat Batavia's Jordan Broadway in straight sets and the Saints slipped past the Bulldogs, 4-3.

"Paul was elated with that win because he knows Jordan is a very good player," Drawer said. "We've done well against Batavia over the years, but last season they beat us 6-1, so it was good to get back on the winning side."

Jimmy Hebert and Ryan McNally are settling into the second and third singles roles, respectively.

"Jimmy has a way of taking people out of their game," Drawer said. "He's smart, and he's a fighter who knows how to win points."

One of the Saints' more intriguing questions coming into the season concerned the progress of their top doubles team. Though Sam Gunther is an experienced doubles player and a state qualifier as a junior last season, teaming up with a new partner, even a fellow senior like Kirk Nelson, is often a challenge.

"I've been amazed at how quickly and how much they have improved," Drawer said. "They still have moments when they struggle, but they've been working really hard, and have made huge leaps."

The duo began the season with a frustrating loss to St. Charles North's David Johnson and Christian Hoskey, and there's a chance those two top doubles teams could face off again at this weekend's West Aurora Quad.

"I know they were not happy with that match, and that it was played so early in the year," Drawer said.

St. Charles North: After sweeping the Saints, 7-0, a dual that was finally completed last week when John Mittvick finished his weather-postponed No. 1 singles win over Reiff, the North Stars went on to win their next three Upstate Eight Conference matches.

"We've been doing very well in our matches, but sometimes it's difficult to tell where you're at since we've had a couple of big weekend tournaments that have been canceled because of the weather," St. Charles North coach Tim Matacio said. "It's part of the game for boys tennis, but it's been very disappointing because of the nature of our team. When you have some young players like we do, and some players who are in different roles, you want them to get more experience."

So far, the experience has been a largely positive one for Mittvick, a freshman, who has rolled through the competition at No. 1 singles and jumped out to an 8-1 record.

"Johnny is very strong, he hangs in really well, and he's doing fine," Matacio said.

Matacio had a few doubts, and several options when it came to piecing together his doubles lineup. But Johnson and Hoskey have been doing a solid job at No. 1.

"They're playing great, even though they haven't played together a whole lot in the past," Matacio said. "Christian is probably still more comfortable playing singles, but it would be awfully hard to play him at that number two spot when he's one of the top three players on our team."

The North Stars have also been racking up wins from their No. 2 doubles team of Andrew Davis and Matt Baumann.

"They're two seniors who are smart and steady, and they have a chance to be very good," Matacio said. "They're both a little low key, but they've shown that they can get pumped up and excited when they need to."

The North Stars are off to a 9-1 start, and have been the area's most dominant team despite the flurry of cancellations.

"Right now, I've got what I think is our best lineup," Matacio said. "We have a chance to be a very good, but you have to wait and see how the players develop throughout the season and how they respond to the different challenges as you go along."

Geneva: Geneva responded to a major challenge last week when they fought back after losing every first set, to win its dual at Batavia, 4-3. Though he couldn't recall ever seeing that happen before, it represented the sort of determination that Doug Ross has come to expect from his team.

"We don't have players who back off or roll over when things get tough," Ross said. "You love to see that, and it's an attitude that we've had all season long."

In that match, the Vikings got their wins from the lower half of the lineup, and that's something Ross knows they'll need to continue being successful.

"We have a lot of players who can go out there and fight and get us a win," Ross said. "We may not have the most talent, but that's not always what matters most."

Freshman Colin Rapp is among the players who have been stepping up for Geneva, playing No. 3 singles.

"I've been facing a lot of good talent, and I've liked it," Rapp said.

The Vikings know they're locked in a difficult three-team battle for the Western Sun Conference title, and the win over Batavia was just one of the hurdles they'll have to scale.

"We lost a tough one against Glenbard South, and that put some pressure on us," Ross said. "But we believe that we're right there in the conference with Batavia and Glenbard South."

Batavia: There have been some rough afternoons for the Bulldogs, who suffered a pair of 4-3 losses in the same week,

"I don't know what to say about the way that we've played some of the time," Batavia coach Bob Kummer said. "We definitely have to start doing a better job of closing out some of these matches."

Broadway continues to work on making the transition back to the No. 1 singles spot after playing doubles for the past two years, and he's been finding some challenges along the way.

"I feel like I'm a lot smarter and more consistent now," Broadway said. "I can hang in matches and know when it's the right time to hit a big shot."

The Batavia senior's greatest goal remains to go downstate. And though he knows it's not going to be easy, he is confident it's within his reach.

"I still have some work to do, but I'm getting pretty close to where I need to be," Broadway said.