North Stars defend tennis sectional crown

Published in the Kane County Chronicle on
May 18th, 2008


North Stars defend tennis sectional crown
BY KEVIN JENISON - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted.)-->ROSELLE – Neither the stiff competition nor equally stiff winds could stop the St. Charles North boys tennis team from earning its second straight sectional title Saturday morning.North (22 points) beat out Bartlett (17) for the team title on a day when the North pair of David Johnson and Christian Hoskey took home first place in doubles, beating Wheaton Academy’s Charles West and Devin Moore,6-2, 6-0, in the doubles championship match.“We put a lot of effort into what we do, and when it comes out in your favor, it feels pretty good,” North coach Tim Matacio said.It wasn’t easy for Johnson and Hoskey to make the finals. They found their semifinal match against Geneva’s Pat Coveney and Wes Kappel to be more than just a morning stretch.Coveney and Kappel, who had beaten the North team in the second of two previous meetings this season, played the North duo within 6-3 in the first set, but the North Stars came alive in the second set to prevail, 6-0.In the finals against Wheaton Academy, North jumped to a great start, winning the first set, 6-1. But that’s when West and Moore of Wheaton Academy regrouped and came out strong, starting the second set, 3-0.Wheaton Academy made a match of it, but North regrouped to take the second set, 7-5.“The good thing was that we were able to come back and win it,” Hoskey said.While the wind seemed to play a factor in most of the day’s play, North's doubles champions wouldn’t have had it any other way.“Playing with the wind so much in our home court really helped us,” Johnson said.Fellow North Star John Mittvick, a freshman singles standout, battled his way into the finals before falling to Glenbard North’s Matt Boguslawski, 6-3, 6-1, to take second in singles.In Mittvick's semifinal match against Bartlett’s Yosh Patel, Mittvick won both sets via tiebreaker.“The only way I could beat him was to come to the net,” Mittvick said.The solution wasn't the same for Mittvick in his finals match. Boguslawski used a flurry of thrashing serves to keep Mittvick off balance.“He’s just a really good player and there was nothing I could do against his serve,” Mittvick said.Matacio was proud of Mittvick’s showing.“John’s been battling seniors all year long and he's only a freshman,” Matacio said. “He put in a real good effort today.”North, winning its their second straight sectional and fourth in eight years, is looking forward to action at this week’s IHSA State Meet, beginning Thursday.Also qualifying for the state draw was the St. Charles East doubles pair of Sam Gunther and Kirk Nelson, who played a semifinal match against Wheaton Academy’s West and Moore, falling, 6-2, 6-0.