Minooka’s Falvey scores conference singles crown

Updated: May 16, 2011 9:51PM

Revenge was the theme of the day for the No. 1 singles and doubles champions at the Southwest Prairie Conference boys tennis meet Monday.

Minooka’s Brian Falvey exacted revenge on Oswego East’s Blaine Hrovat to claim the title at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over the SPC’s No. 1 seed at Plainfield North.

No. 2 seed Falvey lost to No. 1 Hrovat 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 during the dual-meet portion of the season.

“I went to the net a lot more and put some big points away,” Falvey said. “I’ve been working hard on my groundstrokes and volleys.”

It paid off as Falvey, a junior, beat Hrovat for the season year in a row in the SPC title match.

“I lost a tough three-set match to him during the season,” Falvey said of Hrovat, a sophomore. “It was a close match and he’s a good player. We’re so close, so whoever was hitting their shots was going to win.”

Falvey posted a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over Plainfield South’s freshman phenom Austin Russell in the semifinals.

The meet was postponed Friday and Saturday because of rainy and cold conditions.

Oswego went unbeaten during the league season and won the conference tournament going away by scoring 30 points. Plainfield Central was second with 18.5. Plainfield South took fourth with 14.5, Plainfield North fifth with 12.5, Minooka was next with 7.5, Plainfield East scored 1.5 to take seventh and Romeoville had one point to place last in the eight-team loop.

Plainfield North’s top doubles team of Stephen Wilder and Neil Bruyere entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed after losing to Oswego and Oswego East during the season.

The seniors turned the tables at the SPC meet, beating Oswego East in the semifinals and Oswego’s Nathan Kyes and Jake Roberts 6-3, 6-1 in the final at Plainfield East.

“During the season, those matches were really close,” Wilder said. “We knew we could pull it off for sure.”

“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have as much chemistry,” Bruyere said. “During the season we got better playing together and we learned to work as a team instead of playing individually.”

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