East netters beat Wisco, Tosa West

The Wauwatosa East boys tennis team had a good week, beating crosstown rival Wauwatosa West, 5-2, on May 2 at West after shutting out Wisconsin Lutheran, 7-0, on April 30.

"Overall we played good against West and it's always good to defeat our crosstown rival," Tosa East coach Glen Slonac said. "I was pleased to see our team very focused and prepared for the match. Our singles again was our strong point winning behind Tracy Johnson (6-0, 6-1), Sam Ingrilli (6-0, 6-0), Simon Kostelanetz (6-1, 6-0) and Jonny Vannucci (6-3, 6-0).

"I thought we played well in doubles but West's doubles played a little bit better and we won one out of the three matches, but we were very competitive in the two matches we lost."

Charlie Fahr/John Patesch won the only doubles match (7-6, 6-3).

The Red Raiders then took part in the Beaver Dam Tournament on Saturday.

"We played fairly good but didn't score points in all the flights which hurt our overall team total," Slonac said.

Johnson took second place, winning a close match against Manitowoc in the semifinal (6-2, 4-6, 7-6) but lost to Fond du Lac in the finals.

"He didn't play his best tennis but found a way to win the (Manitowoc) match, which is a great credit to his ability," Slonac said.

Vannucci won his first match against Beaver Dam and then beat Oshkosh West in a long match before losing in the finals.

"Jonny played really well," Slonac said. "He played very smart and consistent all day. His legs seemed to be a little tired in the finals and that affected his play slightly."

Patesch finished fourth.

"I have been trying to work John into the singles lineup and he has shown good potential," Slonac said. "John has a nice all-around game and is starting to learn how to set up points."

At first doubles, Ingrilli/Kyle Gottwein beat Wausau West but lost to Green Bay Preble and Franklin and finished fourth.

"They played well against some really good doubles teams," Slonac said. "Even though they were 1-2 on the day they competed really well.

The third doubles team of Fahr/Michael Sodnik took second, losing in the finals to Manitowoc after beating Oshkosh West and Franklin.

"Fahr has really been improving his doubles play and has vastly improved since the beginning of the year," Slonac said.

Overall, though, Slonac said the Red Raiders still have some things to work on.

"Our team still needs to improve our tie-break record and we are currently about .500 and usually our teams are .700, so improving this aspect of our game can make a big difference in the outcome of our matches," Slonac said.