Hub sophomore John Green and freshman Parker Lenkaitis scored the deciding point for the Rochelle varsity tennis team Wednesday evening, when the purple and white hit the road for a five-point, nonconference matchup against the Mendota Trojans.
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MENDOTA — Hub sophomore John Green and freshman Parker Lenkaitis scored the deciding point for the Rochelle varsity tennis team Wednesday evening, when the purple and white hit the road for a five-point, nonconference matchup against the Mendota Trojans.
Rochelle swept both singles matches, with sophomore David Wanner defeating Trent Stamberger 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 singles while junior Alex Gilbert topped Eulysses Preciado 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 singles. After Mendota won two doubles matches to even the match, Green and Lenkaitis worked together to hold off Jacob Ensor and Zach Compell at No. 3 doubles, hanging on to win the match 6-1, 3-6, 10-4 to help the Hubs defeat the Trojans 3-2.
“It felt really good to get the win,” Green said. “We felt good during the match and we were hitting our shots. Parker and I have good chemistry and we’ve known each other for a few years. Our net play has been a lot better and we aren’t giving our opponents second chances.”
Rochelle (4-9) has now won four of its last seven matches after starting the season with an 0-6 record. Juniors Jason Zheng and Devansh Patel faced Logan Brandner and Andrew Stamberger at No. 1 doubles, falling 0-6, 3-6. At No. 2 doubles, junior Peter Forsberg and sophomore Owen Haas faced off with Bryon Hampton and Tyler Valdez, conceding a 6-2, 5-7, 5-10 defeat. The Hubs will host Ottawa and LaSalle-Peru for a three-team meet on Monday, May 24.
“We’re trying for as many wins as we can,” Lenkaitis said. “John and I work well together. We have good chemistry and we know how to win. Some of us could barely hit the ball when we started the season, but we’ve improved to where we can finally win matches and meets.”