Zhang, doubles team propel Huskies

Updated: May 21, 2011 9:23PM

For sectional champion Naperville North, the 2011 boys tennis season wasn’t bad for what was supposed to be a rebuilding season.

The host Huskies, who suffered heavy graduation losses from last year, won the sectional championship Saturday and qualified singles champion Gordon Zhang and the doubles team of Kevin Huang and Steven Nguyen, which finished third, for the state tournament.

“This is the first time I’ve won the sectional,” said Zhang, who earned his third straight state qualification. “It feels great to be representing Naperville North at state.”

Benet, which finished second in the team standings, dominated the doubles field qualifying both duos as Phil Denys and Matthew Rurka defeated their teammates Bobby Martin and Mike Schutt in the finals.

“When you go into the season calling it a building year and come away winning sectionals that’s an unbelievable thing,” said Naperville North coach Heather Henricksen. “That’s a tribute to the kids who are so skilled and worked so hard all season.”

Zhang’s game seemed to reach a whole new level in the sectional tournament as he dropped only two games in the four matches it took to win the title.

“There were a lot of close games so the scores weren’t as one-sided as they seem,” said Zhang. “But winning those close games show that I’m really confident and I believe in my shots. My serves, which were inconsistent this season, were solid the past two days and they had a lot of pace.”

“Gordon was extremely aggressive today,” said Henricksen. “He was taking the ball early and playing with a lot of confidence. He’s excited and ready for state. Our doubles team had a great tournament and really did well in their first year together. They’re naturally good tennis players. The two Benet teams are good and generally even, so we knew we would face a stiff challenge when we met one of them in the semifinals.”

In the All-Redwings final, Denys and Rurka bested Martin and Schutt 6-0, 7-6 (9-7).

The Benet doubles teams were pleased to be facing each other in the finals.

“We’ve been working toward this all season and it’s great that both teams are going to state,” said Rurka.

“Ever since I was little and watched my brothers in this sectional, I wanted to be playing here,” said Martin. “It was fun to play against our teammates in the finals.”

Benet coach Michael Hand said all year that he really had two No. 1 doubles team and that was proven at the sectional.

“Denys and Rurka, who qualified for state last year, are peaking at the right time,” Hand said. “And Martin and Schutt really stepped up a level in competition this year. They now understand what they need to do to win big doubles matches.”

With the top four singles and top four doubles qualifying for state, the Naperville North sectional will also be represented by Wheaton North, Glenbard West and St. Francis.

Zhang defeated Glenbard West’s Matt Hirsh (also a three-time state qualifier), 6-0, 6-1 in the singles finals, while St. Francis’ Mike Vale topped Wheaton North’s Jack Lorentsen 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 for third place.

The Huskies’ Huang and Nguyen took third place with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Zach Andor and Ben Crowe of Wheaton North.

The final point totals were Naperville North with 23 and Benet had 18. Glenbard West and Wheaton North were tied for third with 16, followed by Wheaton Warrenville South with 12 and St. Francis with 11.

Oswego Sectional — Neuqua Valley ran away with the title, totaling 36 points to outdistance second-place Oswego (19). The Wildcats swept number one and two singles and doubles. Neuqua’s singles winners were Brian Glavin and Tim Worley, while the Wildcats winning doubles teams were Patrick Carpio-Michael Baiochi and Tyler Wall-Nick Anderson.

IMSA Sectional — Naperville Central got a victory in number two singles from sophomore Sid Swamy and swept number one and two doubles to win the sectional with 22 points. In addition to Swamy, Central qualified its doubles teams of Danny Albert-Gautham Bala and freshman Wesley Lo-Chris Harrison. Waubonsie Valley’s Abhi Singh also qualified for state by winning number three singles.

State finals are Thursday through Saturday at various sites (visit ihsa.org).

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