Vikings, Blackhawks cut their teeth vs. tough field

West Aurora's Mike Holme hits a shot during a singles match Saturday at the West Aurora boys tennis tournament.
(Mary Beth Nolan/For The Beacon News)

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The Geneva Vikings saved their best for last in West Aurora's boys tennis invitational Saturday.

The Vikings lost their first match to Timothy Christian at the Blackhawks' courts, then moved to the courts at Washington Middle School and defeated Joliet Township and the junior varsity team from St. Charles North to earn fifth place in the eight-team event. The North Stars JV team participated as a result of the closure of Marmion Academy and the resulting cancellation of all school activities.

West played the varsity North Stars tough in the opening round, then fell to the North Stars JV team and to Joliet Township.

The varsity North Stars went on to win the tournament title.

Geneva was led by its No. 1 doubles team of Wes Kappel and Collin Rapp. The pair won all three matches without dropping a set and racked up the only victory in a 4-1 first-round defeat at the hands of Timothy Christian.

Kappel and Rapp are 9-2 on the season. Kappel is a senior who has participated at the state tournament with a different partner. Rapp, a sophomore, is looking to go downstate for the first time.

The Vikings' No. 2 doubles team of Rich Michaels and Greg Adelman won their final two matches of the day. The victory over the St. Charles North JV squad was instrumental in the Vikings' 3-2 win because the team gave up two defaults due to prom preparation.

West Aurora was led by Matt Kuntzi, who won all three of his matches to improve to 8-3 on the season. Kuntzi, a freshman, outlasted Joliet Township's Collin Shea in his final match of the day. The two had faced each other 10 times at the junior level, with Shea prevailing each time. So Kuntzi's win was a breakthrough.

Kuntzi broke serve down 2-3 in the second set to Shea, then again at 6-5 with a blistering forehand to win the match.

"He's a really good player -- he just doesn't miss," Kuntzi said of Shea. "I was able to keep it deep on him and got lucky on a couple of shots. I want to make it to state this year. I've been practicing my whole year for this."

The day was a learning experience for the young Blackhawks.

"Our first match (against St. Charles North) was a heartbreaker," West assistant Jim Kuntzi said. "We had three matches go to the 10-point tiebreaker and we lost two of them. That was the experience factor. With Garret (Wells) going down to injury in the second match (at No. 2 singles), it was nice to see Mike Holme come in and win in Garrett's place. Mike's a warrior. We got a few matches under our belt today, and that has to help us."

Wells won his match against St. Charles North before having to retire in his next match.

Geneva coach Peter Burkhardt was impressed with the No. 2 doubles combo of Michaels and Adelman.

"They played well against Joliet. I thought they could have won their match this morning (a tiebreaker loss to Timothy Christian)," said Burkhardt, whose team improved to 11-5 overall. Boys Tennis: West Aurora Invitational