C-G’s Federighi cruises to state

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CARY – Cary-Grove tennis player Chris Federighi continued his late-season dominance, dropping only one game Saturday in winning the singles title at the Cary-Grove Sectional.

Federighi beat Crystal Lake Central’s Tommy Nelson, 6-0, 6-1, in the championship match.

The top four finishers at sectionals qualify for the IHSA State Finals, which begin Thursday throughout the northwest suburbs.

Federighi dominated the sectional field with consistency and power.

“I think nerves got to me a lot last year,” Federighi said. “This year I’m hitting more all-out.”

Federighi wanted to be seeded for the state tournament, but the win guaranteed that he wouldn’t have to face a seeded player in the first round.

The doubles championship was a rematch of the Fox Valley Conference tournament No. 1 doubles championship. Like conference, Prairie Ridge’s Quinn Revak and Brandon Curtis beat Crystal Lake South’s Scott Subak and Andy DeBoer, 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).

The win gives Revak and Curtis an unseeded first-round opponent, and the two seniors were happy to beat two local rivals.

“Any last home match is a big deal,” Revak said. “We’re not too worried about the seeding.” 

In the third-place singles match, Crystal Lake Central’s Tyler George beat Marian Central’s Riley Waters, 6-1, 6-1. On the doubles side, Crystal Lake South’s Brad Wiegand and Dan Arnold defeated McHenry’s Jack Romme and David Robinson, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, to take third place.

Waters is the first Marian Central player to qualify for state since Ray Gobberg in 2004. The Hurricanes came close to qualifying more, placing all four of their entries into the quarterfinals.   

Marian coach Jim Sargent said his team’s performance at sectional puts the Hurricanes back on the radar in the area. None of Sargent’s sectional players are seniors, leaving him optimistic about next season.

“I think it’s a huge step,” Sargent said. “I feel there’s no reason we can’t get four teams into the state tournament (next year).”

Crystal Lake South won the sectional team title with 21 points. The Gators were followed by Crystal Lake Central (19), Prairie Ridge (18) and Marian (17).

Gators coach Don Nead said his team has won all year, including a conference title a week ago, through contributions from his entire lineup.

“We’ve been team all year,” Nead said. “It took the whole team to do it.”