Netters post big wins in Delavan and East Troy
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A clean sweep by the Big Foot-Williams Bay boys tennis doubles teams Monday was just what the Chiefs needed.
And it vaulted them to a key Rock Valley Conference dual meet victory.
Behind those three doubles wins, the Chiefs posted a 5-2 road victory over the Trojans. The win Monday came on the heels of a first-place finish at Saturday’s Delavan-Darien Doubles Tournament.
The Chiefs opened play last week with a 5-2 non-conference setback to visiting Watertown Luther Prep April 30.
Winning doubles matches over East Troy were seniors Will Huerth and Nick Klesmith at No. 1, 6-0, 6-0 over Jordan and Jared Paullin; senior Christian Munoz and junior Michael Heidenreich at No. 2, 6-1, 6-2 over Adam Rhode and Jacob Denbar; and juniors Adrian Hernandez and Michael Butler at No. 3, 6-2, 6-0 over Enricho Taccani and Alvaro Garcia.
“Our doubles teams really came together over the weekend, particularly our one doubles team,” Big Foot coach Christopher Chen said. “(We) continued that against East Troy.
“Hopefully, we get over the hump and can play consistently from top to bottom the rest of the season.”
Adding singles wins were senior Nico Tovar at No. 1, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) over John Brehm, and sophomore Liam McCarthy at No. 2, 6-3, 6-4 over Vince Baxter.
Tovar continues to have a solid season, his coach said.
“Nico pulled out a huge win for us at No. 1 singles,” Chen said. “He’s an excellent athlete, and he’s done a great job using his height to his advantage,
“Against East Troy, he served and volleyed extremely well, and I hope he can get a few more big wins for us.”
Falling to the Trojans were sophomore Hamilton Smith, 1-6, 2-6 to Paul D’Amico and freshman Jack Heidenreich, 0-6, 2-6 to Brody Woodson.
Chen was pleased with the overall effort against the Trojans.
“We played well against East Troy,” he said. “We built off the positive momentum from the weekend. Doubles played great and gutted out two tough matches. I was really happy with how the team played.”
Big Foot rolled to a first-place finish in Delavan Saturday with wins of 5-0 over the host Comets and West Allis Hale and a 4-1 victory over Badger.
“The key to winning that tournament was our ability to win the matches at the top two spots,” Chen said. “Our one and two doubles teams played the best I’ve seen them play, and the one doubles team’s win against Badger in the final was the icing on the cake.”
Winning matches against Delavan were Huerth-Klesmith at No. 1a, 6-1, 6-0; Munoz-Michael Heidenreich at No. 1, 6-3, 6-0; Jack Heidenreich-Tovar at No. 2, 6-3, 6-0; Hernandez-J.P. Canizales at No. 3 6-0, 6-0; and Butler-McCarthy at No. 4, 4-6, 7-5 (10-4).
Posting victories over West Allis were Huerth-Klesmith at No. 1a, 6-1, 6-0; Munoz-Michael Heidenreich at No. 1, 7-5, 6-2; Jack Heidenreich-Tovar at No. 2, 6-2, 6-3; Hernandez-Canizales at No. 3, 6-2, 6-0; and Butler-McCarthy, via forfeit.
The Chiefs finished the day with a 4-1 win over Badger. Posting victories were Huerth-Klesmith at No. 1a, 7-5, 3-6 (10-2); Munoz-Michael Heidenreich at No. 1, 6-2, 6-4; Jack Heidenreich-Tovar at No. 2, 6-3, 6-3; and Hernandez-Canizales at No. 3, 7-5, 4-6 (10-4).
Big Foot’s only loss in that dual came at No. 4 doubles, as Butler-McCarthy fell 3-6, 4-6.
The Chiefs are back in action Saturday at the Stoughton Invitational, followed by their dual meet finale Monday, May 11, at Edgerton.
Chen wants to see his team continue to move forward as the season comes to an end.
“Consistency has been our biggest area of improvement,” he said. “We’re still a work in progress, but we’ve definitely gotten better. Hopefully, we can be hitting our stride come the conference tournament.”
Big Foot falls in dual
The No. 2 doubles team of Munoz-Michael Heidenreich and the No. 3 duo of Canizales-Hernandez posted wins of 6-3, 6-3 and 6-0, 7-5, respectively, in the Chiefs 5-2 loss to Watertown Luther Prep April 30.
Dropping matches were Tovar at No. 1 singles, 1-6, 1-6; Matt Zaremba at No. 2, 2-6, 6-4 (9-11); Jack Heidenreich at No. 3, 2-6, 6-4 (9-11); McCarthy at No. 4, 1-6, 1-6; and Klesmith-Huerth at No. 1 doubles, 3-6, 5-7.
