Gators remain undefeated in tennis

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JOHNSBURG – In a battle of unbeatens in Fox Valley Conference boys tennis, Crystal Lake South remained perfect, defeating Johnsburg, 6-1, on Tuesday.

Cam Laktash won at No. 1 singles for the Gators (10-0 overall, 7-0 FVC), beating Dan Martin, 7-5, 6-1. They went back and forth in the first set, with neither player able to take advantage by winning their service games.

Late in the set, Laktash held serve to go up, 6-5. That service win, he said, proved to be the difference in the match.

“That kind of got me going,” Laktash said. “Once I got that, I got more confident and knew I could hold serve.”

The Gators’ No. 1 doubles team of Scott Subak and Andy DeBoer trailed, 5-2, in the first set before defeating Johnsburg’s Brayton Regner and Colin Goulet, 7-5, 6-1.

DeBoer said falling behind was a wake-up call for him and Subak to play more consistently.

“After we realized we were going to lose the first set, we just picked it up,” DeBoer said. “We just took those mistakes away.”

It was not difficult to find motivation because it was a conference match, Subak said.

“It’s easy to get pumped up,” Subak said. “As a team, we just really want to win conference.”

With Johnsburg returning most of its lineup after taking third in the FVC last year, South coach Don Nead said the matchup was important.

“This was a big match,” Nead said. “We didn’t know what to expect. This was a major test for us.”

The Skyhawks (7-1, 5-1) got their only win at No. 4 doubles when Jack Schneider and Steve Crutchfield defeated Jimmy Uvodich and Spencer Wilson, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Johnsburg coach Rick Bailey said he was pleased with the play of the Skyhawks against a Gators team that was tough from top to bottom.

The important thing early in the season, Bailey said, was to show improvement.

“They’re 15 deep and they’re solid,” Bailey said of the Gators. “It’s mid-April and [we’ve] got to mid-May.”