Zhang, Naperville North lead the way
Saturday’s singles finals match at the Naperville North sectional was a contest between two seniors, four-time state qualifiers, who are viewed by their coaches as the ideal high school athletes and team members.
Gordon Zhang of Naperville North defeated Matt Hirsh of Glenbard West 6-4, 6-0 in the finals to win the sectional singles championship.
Naperville North won the team title with 26 points as Benet finished second with 23, followed by Glenbard West with 20 and Wheaton Warrenville South with 13.
Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen and Glenbard West’s Jim Valleskey each had high praise for their own player and the contributions he’s made to his school tennis team.
“Gordon is exactly what every tennis coach wants in a player,” Henricksen said. “He’s skilled and he’s the best leader I’ve ever coached. He has the drive to win and he finds something in every match to helps him grow as a tennis player. He always conducts himself like a gentleman on the court and he’s always complimentary to his opponent.”
Valleskey has similar feelings about Hirsh.
“If you wanted to build a player who is ideal to coach, Matt is that player,” Valleskey said. “He displays great sportsmanship and he’s a strong competitor. And he has the same demeanor on the court whether he’s winning or losing. He’s been a role model for all the guys. He does so much to help his teammates, anything to make the team better. We’ll miss his skills and his leadership. He’s a coach’s dream come true.”
Zhang and Hirsh, who are friends and have been tennis rivals since they were 9 years old, are both great students, as well. Zhang will attend the University of Chicago, and Hirsh will go to Swarthmore in Pennsylvania.
The sectional’s four singles qualifiers also included Wheaton Warrenville South’s Quinn Jennings and Andy Page. Page injured his elbow in the semifinal match and had to default his third-place contest against his teammate. He expects to be ready for Thursday’s state tournament.
“Andy is just scratching the surface of his ability,” said Wheaton Warrenville South coach Patti Clousing. “And it’s amazing to see how Quinn has grown as a player in his four years here. He just started playing tennis in his freshman year of high school.”
Benet qualified both of its doubles teams as Bobby Martin and Matt Rurka defeated Naperville North’s Steven Nguyen and Lee Charles 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) for the championship, and the Redwings’ Grant Gatto and Noah Read topped the Hilltoppers’ Filip Pacyna and Sam Young 6-2, 6-0 for third place.
“Martin and Jurka were returning serves really well and they took advantage of their chances to close,” said Benet coach Michael Hand. “Grant and Noah were a 5-6 seed, but that was really in name only. They went out today and proved that they’re one of the best around. We’re happy with the way our team performed in sectionals.”
Henricksen lauded the performance by Nguyen and Charles.
“They’ve always hit with a lot of pace,” Henricksen said. “But they’ve learned to be more patient and they have found that true doubles game. They’re working the middle and they play a finesse game and use their power when it’s time to finish off the point.”