Doubles teams bow out early at state
Greendale and Franklin's top units fall in three-setters
Franklin and Greendale's top doubles teams were so close to making a deeper run at the WIAA Division 1 state individual tennis tournament last weekend.
However, they found themselves on the wrong side of a couple three-set matches.
Greendale's team lost in a highly contested first-round match, while both of Franklin's teams did not go quietly in the second round.
One day after Brad Heale and CJ Malek, who earned one of the top 16 seeds, squeaked past Nicolet's Quinn Ellsworth and Jacob Levey in a three-set tussle, 7-5, 2-6, 10-4, the Sabers' top doubles team found itself in the same position.
Just like in their first match, the seniors won the opening set but were defeated in the second forcing a decisive third set.
However, unlike the first round, they played a complete set and not a 10-point super-tiebreaker.
But this time, Heale and Malek could not close the door on Brookfield Central's Kenny Reichert and Kevin Schmidt, losing 6-2, 2-6, 3-6, to end their season at 19-9.
The second-round exit was a setback for a duo, which advanced to the third round in 2009.
"They were a little disappointed, because that was the end of their high school tennis careers," Franklin coach Gail Champion said. "They would have liked to get back to what they did last year, but Central had a little edge over them and playing them was not that easy of a draw in the second round."
Champion said it was also disappointing since her team had defeated the Central tandem a week earlier at sectionals.
"We won the first set pretty easily, but the second set Central started serving well, and we couldn't hold serve," Champion said. "Central didn't make a lot of mistakes the rest of the way."
Senior Zach Bartels and sophomore Kyle Hoffmann (24-4), who won a Southeastern Conference title a few weeks ago, also lost in the same round to Eau Claire Memorial's Erik Olson and Matt Reagan, 6-4, 6-4.
Bartels and Hoffmann, who entered the state tournament by earning one of the 16 special qualifiers, upended Aron Stumbras and John Vandenhouten of Green Bay Preble in the first round, 7-6 (2), 6-0.
"Zach had great leadership and poise throughout the year, and Kyle really matured as the year went on," Champion said.
Greendale's top doubles team, Kyle Goodman and Matt Grieshop, came into the state tournament as one of the hottest duos in the state but couldn't keep it going in Madison.
They were coming off a second-place finish at the conference tournament May 19 and then took first at the Brookfield Central Sectional a week later to earn an automatic berth into the state tournament.
Although they had the momentum, Goodman and Grieshop, who were also seeded, came up just short in their first-round match to Marquette University's Connor Muth and Jed Sekaran, 4-6, 6-3, 6-10.
This was Goodman's second trip to the state tournament, but as a sophomore in 2008, he advanced to the second round.
Grieshop, a sophomore, will return in 2011, as will junior first singles player Nick Kubczak, who was also a state qualifier.
Kubczak, who automatically qualified by winning a match at sectionals two weeks ago, lost in the first round to La Crosse Central sophomore Tony Mirasola, 6-4, 6-1.
In addition to Grieshop and Kubczak, Greendale's entire varsity team, except for Goodman, returns to try to win its 14th straight Woodland Conference championship.
E-mail Newsletter
Your link to the biggest stories in the suburbs delivered Thursday mornings.
Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!
More from Sports
- Oak Creek boys knock down door to beat Franklin, 46-43, in OT
- Sports Notes: Feb. 2
- Co-op gymnastics team getting closer to Burlington all the time
- Sports Wrapups: Feb. 2
- Franklin's Myers chooses a "family feeling," sticks with Northern Illinois
- Sports Wrapups: Jan. 24
- Franklin girls find road back to success, rout Bradford
- Sports Notes: Jan. 24
- Co-op gymnasts turn in best score in winning Arrowhead Invite
- Balanced Falcons take on challenge
0 COMMENTS