No surprises in boys tennis sectional

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Tribune sportswriter

September 27, 2007 11:26 pm

— The No. 1 doubles points Tipton and Northwestern got a measure of satisfaction Thursday afternoon, winning the final points of the opening round of the IHSAA Kokomo Boys Tennis Sectional. Kokomo and Western weren’t giving those points away, but the day’s tension had ended by then.
The Kats and Panthers were already safely through by that point. Perennial defending champion Kokomo advanced to today’s semifinal round with a 4-1 victory over Northwestern on the north courts, while Western topped Tipton by a 4-1 scoreline on the south side of the Kat complex.
Kokomo, the 16-time defending champ, won all three singles points and the No. 2 doubles spot. Kokomo’s Drew Simon was first off the court, beating Alex Ridlen 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1. Kat No. 2 player Mitchell Gauger beat Josh Kinney 6-0, 6-2. And Michael Reynolds beat Todd Snyder 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles. The tandem of Colton Hopwood and Billy Bersbach topped C.J. Hansen and Evan McClure 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 at No. 2.
“I was real proud of our singles players, I think they came out and controlled from the beginning,” said Kokomo coach Shawn Flanary, whose team improved to 11-9. “Even when the guys from Northwestern made a run or tried to press us, we maintained our composure and made good adjustments and were able to take care of business.”
Flanary also complimented the Northwestern No. 1 doubles team of Michael Gasaway and Drew Hansen for their 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Craig Dollens and Nate Herr. It was the longest match of the day.
Northwestern coach Todd Miller credited his kids for making the Kats work across all courts as the Tigers jumped out to a quick lead in the second set on all five courts before the Kats took over. He was glad to get a point and see his No. 1 doubles crew advance to the individual sectional at Peru next week.
“They start out slow a lot of times,” Miller said of the Gasaway-Hansen combo. “… But they got it rolling the second set. The third set they continued, they were super patient like they have been all year, they took advantage of those spots they needed to. I was really impressed with their play.
“We played really well in doubles — our [No.] 2 doubles did a great job of going three sets, pushed them right to the end of that third set. But their singles are good. They’ve got good experience there.”
Northwestern ended its season 6-7. Kokomo faces Taylor at 4 p.m. today in the semifinal round.
Western 4, Tipton 1
Jacob Welker got the ball rolling for the Panthers, taking a 6-0, 6-0 win over Ethen Atkisson at No. 3 singles. Welker was the first winner off the court, starting a Panthers’ sweep of the singles positions.
Brad DiCarlo won 6-2, 6-1 over Erik Atkisson at No. 1 singles, and Aaron Anderson won 6-1, 6-3 over Steven Thompson at No. 2. In doubles play, the Panther team of Wes White and Ben Irwin won 6-3, 6-1 over Justin Overdorf and Jake Henry.
“It’s opening night of the sectionals so I think we had a little jitters to start with,” Western coach Tom Lewis said. “I don’t think we played very aggressive to begin with, but I thought as the match went on we got our feet under us a little bit better.
“After the first couple points or so, we started to play with a little more aggression, a little more offensively, than we had earlier.”
The Panthers take a 14-4 record into today’s 4 p.m. semifinal match against Eastern.
Tipton ended its season at 6-6. The Blue Devils aren’t completely done however as the No. 1 doubles team of Clint Gibbs and Jamey Reese advanced to individual sectional play with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Western’s Bryson Platt and Sam Blatt. Tipton coach Kyle Etherington, a former Western player, said solid net play and improved service helped his doubles squad advance.
The day left Etherington enthused.
“I’m just real happy with the way these guys came out and played,” Etherington said of the Devils. “They left it all out on the court. I thought they played their hearts out. Plus Clint and Jamey have worked so hard, just improved their individual games this year and it’s really great to see those two advance.”