West boys tennis wins sectional, heads to state tournament
A coach's gamble and a player's sacrifice
help the Madison West boys tennis team squeak by conference rival
Middleton in the WIAA Division 1 Sectional to earn a spot in the
WIAA state team tournament.
The Regents earned two more points than the Cardinals, but had mathematically won the Baraboo Sectional Wednesday at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium hours before the last point was played.
But only a week ago, Regent coach Ted Bradley had some serious doubts about his team's chances to advance to the state tournament. So he took a gamble and made some drastic lineup changes.
"I guess I didn't know if it was going to be the right move at the time, but we were struggling at No. 3 and No. 4 singles," Bradley said. "I knew we weren't going to make it to state if we were that weak at No. 3 and No. 4 singles."
To shore up his singles lineup, Bradley moved senior captain Zach Browne from No. 1 doubles to the No. 3 singles spot, sliding sophomore Tim Choi down one spot to No. 4 singles. He also moved a junior varsity player in to the No. 2 doubles spot, thus promoting sophomore Bennett Mortensen up to No. 1 doubles with senior Ian LaPhilliph.
Although West finished third last weekend with the new lineup in the Big Eight Conference tournament behind Madison East and Middleton, Bradley decided the moves felt right and would give them the best chance in the sectional. But before he could go with the new changes he had to make sure the team was comfortable with them.
"I was a little hesitant (with the moves), but I have faith him and his decisions," said Warren Clauss, who with his brother Arthur clinched the state berth for West after defeating Middleton's Adam Desouky and Ian Markson in the final of the third flight doubles championships. The teams had split their prior two meetings, making the 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory even sweeter for the brothers.
For senior Browne, the move to singles meant a return trip to the state individual tournament would be unlikely. Last year he teamed with Bennett. The decision, he says, was easy.
"Team state is a lot more important to me than individual state," Browne said. "I went to individual last year, and (this year) I wanted to do it for the team." Browne said he thought about the ramifications of the move, but they weren't enough to convince him not to make the switch..
Browne won the No. 3 singles flight with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Memorial's Moises Hernandez in the final.
Regent senior Evan Elderbrock won the No. 2 singles flight with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Middleton's Ryan Bender. The victory assured Elderbrock a his first trip to the state individual tournament held next month -- something he says isn't as important as the team qualifying for state.
"We went (to team state) my sophomore year and it was one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of," said Elderbrock long before West had clinched its berth. "It was all the right moves by Ted. It's really working out."
West's top singles player Dan Cooper advanced to the final of his flight as did Choi.
Middleton was looking to advance to the state tournament for the second straight year. To do so Middleton needed either its No. 2 singles player, Bender, or its No. 3 doubles team, Markson and Desouky to beat West -- something Middleton was unable to do on Wednesday.
Middleton coach Greg Isermann was pleased with his team's efforts and credits West's Clauss brothers for their aggressive play against his players in deciding the win for West.
"The Clauss' were more aggressive and they were almost always first to the net," said Isermann, who also sees the selflessness in Browne's move. "He did it for their team. That is just the kind of guy he is."
Middleton's Robbie Kutchin defeated West's Cooper 7-6, 7-6 in the finals of the No. 1 singles flight and Jon Mahvi and Kenny Szulczewski defeated West's LaPhilliph and Mortensen 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 1 doubles flight long after West had clinched. Middleton's Alex Strunce and Jordan Gilbertson won the No. 2 doubles championship, the only flight West failed to participate in, with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over Verona to earn them an automatic entry into the individual state tournament.
The only non Madison-area player to advance to the individual state tournament was LaCrosse Central's junior Victor Mirasola. Mirasola defeated Verona's Adam Means 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to earn the spot -- his first sectional victory in four attempts.
"It was tiring, but it was fun," Mirasola said. "I had come back a few times this year having lost the first set, so I knew I could do it."
Michelle Stocker/The Capital Times
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Alex Strunce of Middleton during the WIAA Division 1 Tennis Sectional at the Nielsen Stadium on Wednesday in Madison.
