By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Prior to last week’s Rock Valley Conference Tournament, East Troy High School boys tennis coach Dave Lindow knew he may have to make a few sacrifices.
If the Trojans hoped to come home with some place winners, Lindow knew a lineup shuffle had to happen.
So that’s what he did, and the strategy worked.
Lindow moved players from singles to doubles, and strategy helped East Troy record one third- and two fourth-place finishes to highlight the Trojans’ outing.
“We loaded up our doubles to try and get some medals,” he said. “Our number one doubles team upset (Watertown Luther Prep) to place third in a great match.
“Our number two and three doubles came up just short (of medaling to finish) in fourth place. All of our singles scored points for us (by) winning a match. Nick Bourdo won two matches (to finish) in fifth).”
The No. 1 doubles team of sophomores Brody Woodson and Vince Baxter, the fifth seed, opened play with a 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 win over the third-seeded McFarland duo of Will Bacon and Michael Mebenblik.
From there, the duo fell 4-6, 6-3, 10-3 to the top-seeded team from Whitewater, Chamath Gunawardena and Forrest Spear, but bounced back to defeat the Luther Prep team of Tim Keller and Josh Schroeder 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 to finish third.
“After losing three third-set tie breaks during the year, it was nice to see Vince and Brody take home some conference hardware,” Lindow said.
“They played three doubles last year and came in second place. They will be a contender for the top spot next year if they work hard.”
Both the No. 2 doubles team of junior John Brehm and sophomore Jared Paullin and the No. 3 team of seniors Adam Rhode and Jacob Debnar finished fourth overall.
Brehm-Paullin opened with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Whitewater’s Griffin Nathan and Devin Samaranayke, but fell 3-6, 1-6 to the top-seeded McFarland team of Ben Barker and Joe Heiser, followed by a 5-7, 1-6 setback to Luther Prep’s Nate Jenswold and Phil Kieselhorst.
Rhode-Debnar began the tournament with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Whitewater’s Mitchell Dalzin and Justin Brantmeier.
In the next round, East Troy fell to the top-seeded team of McFarland’s Mason Grady and Thor Spilde 1-6, 2-6, followed by a 1-6, 6-7 (4) loss to Big Foot’s Adrian Hernandez and J.P. Canizales in the third-place match.
Bourdo leads singles
The top singles’ finish came from freshman Nick Bourdo, who placed fifth overall.
Bourdo, the No. 6 seed, fell 4-6, 1-6 to Whitewater’s Dineth Gunawardena in the first round, but bounced back to defeat Jefferson’s Ryan Messer 6-3, 6-2 and Edgerton’s Derrick Masanz 7-5, 1-6, 12-10 in the fifth-place match.
Finishing sixth were senior Paul D’Amico at No. 1 singles, sophomore Jordan Paullin at No. 2 and junior Enrico Taccani at No. 3.
D’Amico fell in the first round to McFarland’s Zach Witt (no score provided), but defeated Big Foot’s Nico Tovar 6-1, 2-6, 10-7 in the next round. He fell 0-2, 0-2 to Edgerton’s Mike Tate in the fifth-place matchup.
Paullin’s day began with an 0-6, 1-6 setback to Jefferson’s Spencer O’Brien. In the next round, he defeated Big Foot’s Matt Zaremba 6-3, 6-4, but dropped a 3-6, 0-6 decision to Edgerton’s Dustin Lemke to finish sixth.
A 3-6, 0-6 to Jefferson’s Nathan Poser in the first round sent Taccani to a second-round matchup with Edgerton’s Jack Friend, which he won 6-2, 6-2. In the fifth-place match, he fell 3-6, 1-6, 6-10 to Big Foot’s Jack Heidenreich.
McFarland won the team title with 28.5 points, followed by Watertown Luther Prep with 25, Whitewater with 21, Big Foot with 16.5, Jefferson with 15, East Troy with 11.5 and Edgerton with four.
In the final standings, which combined dual meets and the tournament, Edgerton was first with 24 points, followed by Watertown Luther Prep with 20, Whitewater and Big Foot with 14, Jefferson and East Troy with six and Edgerton with zero.
East Troy was back in action with a pair of non-conference dual meets this week against Waterford Monday and Mukwonago Wednesday. The Trojans will compete in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 subsectional next Tuesday, May 26, at Big Foot. Play begins at 8:30 a.m.
