Boys Tennis: Marian Catholic captures own sectional
Updated: May 19, 2012 3:58PM
Friends off the court, Marian Catholic’s Julian Childers and Homewood-Flossmoor’s Brad Holt are quite familiar with each other on the court as well.
The two seniors had faced each other three straight times in the sectional finals back to when they were freshmen, and at Saturday’s Marian Catholic Sectional, the duo squared off for a fourth time.
In a three-set slugfest in the No. 1 singles final, Childers came out on top, winning 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 over rival Holt. Marian Catholic won its second straight sectional title and second overall as a program, totaling 30 points.
“We wanted to win two years in a row as a team, and I felt a lot of pressure to go out and perform,” Childers said. “I knew Brad was going to come out and play big, and he did. I just had to adjust.”
Homewood-Flossmoor and Andrew tied for second place with 21 points each. All players advancing to the sectional semifinal round – top four finishers – in singles and doubles advance to next week’s state tournament starting Thursday.
For Childers, the win came after a disappointing start in the first set, but the senior dominated the second set and squeaked out a back-and-forth third.
“I hate second place so I was really nervous,” Childers said. “Once I loosened up and got the blood flowing, I got my game going.”
On the losing end, Holt came up a little short but still figures to draw a top 16 seed at state.
“Julian played much better the second set, and I let up a little bit,” Holt said. “I got the early break in the third set, but I couldn’t convert on my serve and got a little tight. Julian carried the momentum.”
Holt won as a freshman, but Childers has won the last three sectional final showdowns.
Marian’s Mitch Zavesky and Kyle Scheffers won the doubles title, beating teammates Josh Pinkus and Liam Kroning 6-1, 6-0.
In the third place singles match, Andrew’s Kevin Karczynski defeated teammate Brian Moy 6-0, 6-2. It was the third straight season the two juniors faced off in the third place match.
Playing for the third place doubles, H-F’s Jacob Miguest and Daryl Sullivan beat teammates Adam Griesbach and Jeremy Miller 6-2, 6-4.
Rounding out the team standings, Illiana Christian (10 points) finished fourth with T.F. South and Tinley Park tying for fifth place with eight points each. Bremen (7th place) scored two points.
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