St. Charles East was simply tired of being a gracious host.
The No. 6 Saints (23-2) took the title of their own volleyball tournament for the first time in its seven-year history with a 15-12, 15-13 defeat of No. 7 Naperville North.
In the title match Sarah Vitali collected five blocks, four kills and two aces, while Dani Nyenhuis added six kills and three aces to spark St. Charles East. Lauren Harks pitched in with 15 assists.
The victory in the tournament final also provided another milestone–coach Jennie Kull’s 101st victory in four seasons at St. Charles.
“I didn’t even know,” Kull said. “One of the parents had to point it out to me.”
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Despite the added distraction of homecoming weekend, St. Charles East brought a special sense of purpose to this tournament. The Saints won all three of their matches in the two-game minimum.
“I was concerned–the kids had the dance last night and the football game today,” Kull said. “But it turned out to be a bonus for us. They stayed focused throughout the entire tournament and made a special point to finish this one successfully.”
–Ed Cavanaugh
Boys soccer
Lincoln-Way 2, Glenbard West 1: Nick Bowden and Matt O’Brien scored the goals for the No. 1 Knights (16-0-2).
Evanston 2, Glenbrook South 0: Phil Jones assisted Atley Rattray’s first-half goal and Tyrone Pennant added a second-half score to help the No. 2 Wildkits (14-1-2, 8-0) tip Glenbrook South (8-7-4, 3-3-2) in the Central Suburban South. Jonathan Maendel recorded his 14th shutout behind four saves.
Geneva 2, Oswego 0: Jake Bennett and Matt Soaper each scored for the No. 4 Vikings (18-1-1, 11-0) in the Suburban Prairie White. Mark Nekeck made four saves for the shutout.
Wheaton Academy 4, Wheaton Warrenville South 1: Scott Matthews had two goals while Andy Howard and Nick Fichera each added a goal for the No. 9 Warriors (18-2). Wheaton Academy scored three times in the second half to break a 1-1 tie.
DeKalb 2, Neuqua Valley 1: Doug Whitesel scored his 37th goal of the season in the first half and assisted on Steve Franklin’s game-winner with three minutes left as DeKalb (12-7, 5-2) tripped up Neuqua Valley in the Upstate Eight.
Naperville North 2, Waubonsie Valley 2: Dan Malloy scored on a free kick with 6 minutes left in the match to help Waubonsie Valley (9-3-5) earn the tie. Naperville North (8-5-2) trailed 1-0 at half, but rallied to take a one-goal lead when P.J. Zielbauer and John Davit each scored in the second half.
Girls swimming
Mary and Katie Descenza won seven races at Naperville North, helping Rosary to pile up 112 points and capture its first invitational championship of the season.
Mary, a junior, swept the 200-yard freestyle in 1:53.61 and 100-yard butterfly in :56.46, while Katie, a senior, won the 100-yard backstroke in 1:00.21. The sisters combined to help Rosary win the 200-yard medley relay in 1:53.46 and the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:41.89.
Girls tennis
Central Suburban South Meet: Highland Park captured its third straight conference championship as Debra Streifler defeated Deerfield’s Samantha Shapiro 6-0, 6-3. Highland Park also was led by the doubles squad of Tracy Wertheimer and Ashley Weisman, who edged Katie Johnstone and Laura Levin of Deerfield 7-6, 7-5.
“The kids had enough experience since we had everyone coming back from the last two title years,” Highland Park coach Steve Rudman said. “The next goal is the sectional, and we’ll see pretty much the same teams.”