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Local tennis players vie for championship titles

Tournament director Yuri Sohn (left) and Sendhil Kumaran pose for a photo after the awards ceremony for the Men's 45 and over division at the Champaign Park District Labor Day Tennis Tournament. Kumaran won this year's title after defeating Daniel Morris in the championship match, 6-1, 6-3, on Monday.

LEFT: Stepping into the court to hit an aggressive ball, Scott Aikman sets up a point during his consolation bracket championship match against Kevin Martlage. Aikman won the match 6-1, 7-6(4). MIDDLE: RIGHT: Kevin Martlage hits a routine backhand during his match against Aikman during the second set.

All photos by Sentinel / Clark Brooks

LEFT: Kevin Martlage stretches out to put the ball back over the net on a wide shot from Scott Aikman during their consolation championship match. RIGHT: Aikman, who is ranked #4 in the country by the USTA in Men's 75 and over category, hits a put-away volley to end the point.

LEFT: Tim O'Brien rips a one-handed backhand during his Men's Open Division championship match against Hunter Madigan. After dropping the first set 6-3, O'Brien dominated play in the second, forcing a third-set tie-break with at 6-1 win. When the dust cleared after a 10-point breaker, O'Brien finished runner-up, losing the decider, 10-4. MIDDLE: Travis Davis keeps the in play during his doubles match against Ryan Smith and Helaman Lucas on Labor Day. Davis and partner Anish Bose did not advance after the semifinal. RIGHT: Ayrton Nascimento unleashes a ground stroke while playing Trey Smith for the Beginner/Intermediate Singles Consolation title. Nascimento, a visiting scholar from Brazil, won the match after three-set marathon, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(6).

Helaman Lucas stretches out to poach a short ball while playing with Ryan Smith during their Men’s Open Doubles Consolation semifinal match. The duo advanced to the title bout, winning it 6-2, 7-5, over Hamed Kadiani & Nick Levanti.

LEFT: Trey Smith hits a textbook volley at the net while playing during the second set of his match with Ayrton Nasciemento. Winning the first set 6-2, Lady Luck was not in his favor as he dropped the next two, 6-4, 10-6. MIDDLE: Yuri Sohn updates tournament results on the fly. Sohn is the head teaching pro at Dodds Tennis Center in Champaign and tournament director. RIGHT: Shaun Peterson comtemplates his next serve while playing doubles with partner Jason Zumwalt during their semifinal match against Hunter Madigan and Wyatt Martin. Peterson and Zumwalt went on to win the Men's Open Doubles title.

LEFT: Wyatt Martin rushes forward to attack a drop shot from Jason Zumwalt during their semifinal doubles match. MIDDLE: Paul Cheung hits a routine forehand during his mixed-doubles match against Sarah Benevento & Chris Kuehn. Cheung, and partner Molly Tracy, won the division title, going 2-0 in round robin play. RIGHT: Molly Tracy keeps the rally going with a backhand shot down the middle of the court.

LEFT: Chris Kuehn, a longtime veteran in the local tennis scene, hits a neutral rally ball while playing mixed doubles. MIDDLE: Sarah Benevento celebrates a point with Kuehn. The pair, who won last year's title, finished second at this year's tournament. RIGHT: Sangwon Park serves during the Beginner/Intermediate Singles final. Park won the division after besting Andrew Flores, 6-2, 6-1.

RIGHT: Lino Jo hits a low volley in an exchange at the net while playing doubles against Tim and Daniel O'Brien during their semifinal match in the Men's Open Doubles division. Jo and partner Sam Ryu fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to the O'Brien brothers. LEFT: Daniel O'Brien celebrates his doubles win with brother Tim before playing in the title match an hour later against Shaun Peterson and Jason Zumwalt.

Sam Ryu and Tim O'Brien shake hands while Lino Jo and Daniel O'Brien congratulate each other after their semifinal match in the Men's Doubles Open division.

LEFT: Molly Tracy and Paul Cheung, winners of the Mixed-Doubles division, pose with their swag bags. In lieu of trophies as in past years, this year's champions received a shoulder bag containing a tournament t-shirt, water bottle, racquet overgrips, ink pens, and string dampners. MIDDLE: Hamed Kadiani concentrates on hitting a two-handed backhand while playing with partner Nick Levanti for the consolation bracket title. RIGHT: Nick Levanti hits a slice overhead shot back over the net while playing with Kadiani during their match against Helaman Lucas and Ryan Smith.

Opening statement, Spartans send message to conference opponents

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Fighting his way past Monticello's Hunter Romano, St. Joseph-Ogden defensive back Tayton Gerdes flows across the field to contain the Sages quarterback. The Spartan proved stout, holding the host to just 90 yards on the ground.

MONTICELLO - Monday and Tuesday's weather forecast called for spotty rain for last Friday. By Wednesday, the updated forecast said rain after 9 p.m., and on Thursday it looked like St. Joseph-Ogden's season opener against Monticello would be rain-free. But no, said Mother Nature late Friday afternoon. A meandering storm system producing heavy rain—nearly 2 inches, according to a couple of Monticello residents—and frequent lightning forced the long-awaited game to Saturday.

After receiving the opening kickoff, like the lightning storm that passed through Piatt and Champaign County Friday evening, the Spartans struck frequently, scoring five times in the first half before Monticello could reply.

Thanks to solid offensive planning and execution, a balanced offensive effort, and four talented scoring weapons, SJO won the delayed season opener, 40-28.

Junior Tim Blackburn-Kelley caught a screen pass on the opening play and sprinted 80 yards to the south end zone at Monticello's Wilkey Sports Complex. "I caught the pass and my guys were blocking for me," Blackburn-Kelley explained. "I saw green grass and I just had to get on my horse and go."

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

SJO running back Wyatt Wertz take the ball through a hole in the Monticello defense. Wertz lead the Spartan ground game with 102-yards on 14 carries. See the Sentinel photo gallery for more pictures.

Blackburn-Kelley finished the game with 95 yards on three catches and added 28 yards on four carries.

On the Spartans' next possession, Jared Altenbaumer intercepted the ball with just under six minutes left in the first quarter. Kodey McKinney kept the ball on a draw play and dashed 67 yards through the Monticello defense to put SJO up 12-0.

The Sages' defense faltered again four minutes later. Coy Taylor carried the ball 37 yards to the 2-yard line and scored on the following play for a two-yard plunge to give SJO a 20-0 lead after Charlie Schmitz's PAT.

"We did a lot of things right. We came out very strong in the first quarter," Taylor said. "The first play of the game, we sent a message, and that's what we wanted to do."

Shawn Skinner's Spartans were on fire, unveiling another offensive weapon in Tanner Siems. His two catches totaled just 13 yards—each resulting in a touchdown. Siems announced himself as a playmaker, showcasing his wingspan and speed. Siems may be the first receiver in the Skinner era to join the ranks of exciting ball magnets like Cole Berry (2013-15) and Lukas Gones (2006-08).

Up 34-0, SJO pumped the brakes and relaxed a bit too early.

With a minute and a half left in the first half, Monticello's Ike Young scored on a 13-yard run to make it 34-7 at halftime.

Coming out of the locker room after the intermission, the Sages weren't quite ready to accept their first conference loss.

Showing both confidence and courage, Young threw back-to-back five-yard TD passes — one to Nolan Buehnerkemper in the third quarter and another to Carter Foran in the fourth—narrowing the deficit to two scores.

"I think the team, including myself, thought they would just roll over," Blackburn-Kelley said. "We had to get in each other's grill and finish the game."

One area he feels the team needs to work on for next week is staying focused for all four quarters.

"I think we need to work on staying focused and playing hard when we're tired," he said, looking ahead to Week 2 against Unity at home this Friday.

Taylor, who had nine catches for 82 yards and 43 yards on five carries, believes he and his Spartan teammates also need to work on leadership.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Senior Jackson Ennis celebrates the Spartans' first win of the season with the Maroon Platoon. His leadership was key in the victory and SJO will need more of it during the regular season to come out on top of the Illini Prairie.

"During the second half, we started out slow on both sides of the ball. We need to make sure we're not asleep or anything like that because a good team will take advantage of that."

With just over six minutes left in the game, McKinney found Taylor in the end zone for a 12-yard TD. Up 40-21, the Spartans missed on a few cylinders, giving Monticello the chance to score once more before the final buzzer.

McKinney finished his varsity quarterback debut spectacular fashion, going 12-for-14 passing for 208 yards, and four TDs.

Monticello drove down the field, and Young scored again on a keeper from the three-yard line, making the final score 40-28 after the PAT.

Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner attributed the second-half slump to the squad's youth and inexperience. He noted that for many players, it was their first extensive varsity experience.

"Good teams don't stop playing football, and that was true of our opponent today," Skinner said thoughtfully. "We need to learn that to be a good team. We can't just stop playing when we get up big early."

The Spartan offense totaled 454 yards for the day. The passing game barely skipped a beat from the previous season, with the receiving corps amassing 208 yards. Meanwhile, the ground attack added another 246 yards. The Sages finished with 405 total yards.

Skinner said he didn't think the Spartans could have played the first quarter and a half any better.

"We did a lot of things right. I think that's a credit to the work our kids have put in," he said. "We clearly have some guys who can play well on both sides of the football. They have to understand, they have to play all 48 minutes."

Box Score:

SJO 20 - 15 - 0 - 6 - 40
MONTICELLO 0 - 6 - 7 - 14 - 28