Boys tennis: Stevenson adjusts, repeats as NSC champ

Boys tennis

On Friday, Stevenson won the North Suburban Conference tennis league championship for the second year in a row.

"We've always told the kids to stay flexible during the postseason. They have to be ready for hot weather, cold and windy weather, long delays ... they just need to mentally stay patient this time of year," Stevenson coach Tom Stanhope said. "The NSC championships were a good example of that. Long delay in cold weather, the guys were physically tightening up. But when it was time to play, they mentally geared up and got out to really fast starts. We played the wind really well early on, certainly having the advantage of playing at home and knowing those conditions."

The Patriots finished with 40 points after winning at each position except No. 3 singles, where Stevenson's entrant was second.

Zach Kim won at first singles, and Sai Merneedi/Eric Perkowski won at first doubles.

Lake Forest had runners-up at each position except for No. 3 singles, which was won by the Scouts. They finished with 30 points. Libertyville and Warren both ended up with 17 points.

"I think Lake Forest made some great adjustments in the wind and played well," Stanhope said. "Luckily we got out to such fast starts and were able to hold them off.

"We started five freshmen in our conference tournament lineup. Being their first postseason, we were a little wary of how they would handle some pressure. Overall, they were very mentally prepared and didn't skip a beat in the jump from the regular to postseason."