Trojans win Division 2 subsectional title
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It’s been quite the week for the East Troy High School boys tennis team.
Just six days after the Trojans captured the Rock Valley Conference championship for the first time since 2013, the Trojans on Monday brought home a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 subsectional title.
East Troy, playing on its home court, finished with 18 points, just ahead of McFarland’s 16 and Big Foot’s 14. Rounding out the team scores were Whitewater with eight and Delavan-Darien and Monroe with four. Jefferson and St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy finished with zero points.
The Trojans sought their first-ever WIAA State Team Tournament appearance at Wednesday morning’s East Troy Sectional. A title in that event would send the Trojans to Madison on Saturday, June 10. Watertown Luther Prep, which finished second to the Trojans at the conference meet, entered the sectional tied with East Troy at 18 points.
“It will be a fight to the finish,” East Troy coach Dave Lindow said Tuesday. “Everyone is excited about the opportunity to make history. Our top six kids have carried us all year. I’m sure Wednesday will be no different.
“It will be great watching these kids compete to get to state (as individuals) and also (having) a chance at getting to team state.”
East Troy advanced five of its seven positions individually to Wednesday’s sectional.
Winning singles matches were senior Brody Woodson at No. 1, 6-3, 6-1 over Delavan-Darien’s Julian Moralez; senior Vince Baxter at No. 2, 6-0, 6-0 over Whitewater and 6-0, 6-0 over Big Foot’s Nelson Tovar; junior Nick Bourdo at No. 3, 6-0, 6-0 over St. John’s and 6-0, 6-2 over Big Foot’s Alexis Duran; and senior Jared Paullin at No. 4, 6-0, 6-0 over Monroe’s Quinn Walsh and 6-2, 6-1 over Edgerton’s Nic Rojas Ceron.
The four East Troy singles players brought a 65-5 overall record into Wednesday’s sectional.
East Troy’s fifth sectional qualifier came at No. 1 doubles, as the team of juniors Joe Moede and Jered Brehm beat Jefferson’s Mason Lindermoen and Matt Thompson, 6-0, 6-0.
At No. 2 doubles, the junior duo of C.J. D’Amico and Jordan Paullin beat Jefferson, 6-0, 6-7 (2), 6-4, but fell, 3-6, 2-6 to Delavan-Darien’s Seth Grabow and Jakob Driscoll. At No. 3, sophomore Logan Fitch and senior Josh Moede fell, 3-6, 5-7 to McFarland’s Collin Corcoran and Carter McShane.
Both McFarland and Watertown Luther Prep also advanced five spots to Wednesday’s sectional.
The top four finishers at No. 1 singles and the top two at No. 1 and 2 doubles will advance to the WIAA State Individual Tournament on June 1 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium, Madison.
Trojans win four titles
Led by four first-place finishes at last week’s RVC Tournament at UW-Whitewater, the Trojans edged Watertown Luther Prep, 24-20 in the final standings to win the overall title.
Finishing behind those two were Big Foot with 16 points, McFarland with 10, Edgerton with eight, Whitewater with six and Jefferson with zero.
East Troy matched the girls from the fall as an undefeated regular-season conference champion.
“The conference championship was very satisfying for our team,” Lindow said. “It took a while to put our team together, and then once we got it in place, we worked really hard. It paid off. … I’m very happy for our kids to have this link in history together. This was a complete team effort. It was fun working with assistant coach Paul Kielas on putting this team together and winning it all.”
Winning titles were Bourdo at No. 3 singles, Jared Paullin at No. 2, Joe Moede-Brehm at No. 1 doubles and D’Amico-Jordan Paullin at No. 2 doubles.
Bourdo beat Duran, 6-1, 6-2 and McFarland’s Tyson Laux, 6-3, 6-4, while Paullin won his singles title with victories of 6-2, 6-3 over Whitewater’s Johaly Zochipa and 6-4, 6-1 over Watertown Luther Prep’s Adrian Brands.
Both doubles teams won three matches en route to their championships.
Joe Moede-Brehm beat Jefferson, 6-0, 6-1 and Whitewater, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5, followed by a 7-5, 6-4 win over Big Foot’s Hamilton Smith and Logan Grunow, the top seed, in the finals.
At No. 3, D’Amico-Jordan Paullin opened with wins of 6-2, 6-1 over Jefferson and 6-1, 6-2 over Whitewater, followed by a 4-6, 7-5, 10-8 win over Edgerton’s Matthew Pierce-Henry Conway, also the top seed, in the title matchup.
Baxter was second for East Troy’s other top finish. He beat Tovar, 6-4, 6-1, but fell 5-7, 3-6 to Watertown Luther Prep’s Jonah Schulz. Woodson was third at No. 1 singles, while Fitch and Josh Moede were fifth at No. 3 doubles.
