SPORTS

Asfora/Clayton champs show grace under fire

Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com

A spectator likened Zach Northey to Andy Roddick. That's how much mustard the 6-foot-4 Nebraskan was putting on his serves Sunday afternoon at McKennan Park.

Yet Northey didn't win the men's singles title at the Asfora/Clayton South Dakota Adult Open tournament – top seed Hamish Weerasinghe did. Steady trumped speedy in a championship matchup between 21-year-olds.

The recent Bradley University graduate Weerasinghe prevailed 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 to score his first post-collegiate victory and a $1,000 check. That line seemed unlikely when the match started, as the third-seeded Northey cashed out three aces in the opening game. However, he was limited to four the rest of the way and was broken twice in the final set.

The Edina, Minn., native Weerasinghe calculated correctly: Play for a tiebreaker in the first set then try to steal control in the second.

"When I saw him bombing serves I focused on holding my serve," he said. "I got lucky with a couple breaks in the second set. He let me look at a couple serves instead of just watching it hit the fence."

Oddly enough, that's the way Northey judges his velocity, too – by how high it hits on the back fence rather than by miles per hour. Either way, his serve moves. Weerasinghe said he didn't see many better during his four seasons in the Bradley lineup.

But, again, it wasn't enough. The 5-foot-9 Weerasinghe won two of three points that Northey served in bolting to a 6-1 edge in the tiebreaker.

In the second set, Weerasinghe scored the first break of service of the match to take a 3-1 advantage. He broke again for a 5-3 advantage – answering the only break by Northey.

"He's really steady and he hits the ball so dang low," said Northey, who will play at a junior college in Texas this fall after chasing matches on satellite tours the past two years. "I'm so tall I have to use a lot of legs to get into it; I don't have the legs for that. He got me."

Short topped tall in the women's final too, as Heather Nobler of Lincoln, Neb., gained a 6-2, 6-3 decision over defending champ Veronika Philippova, a Chicago resident and former O'Gorman standout.

The 30-year-old Nobler never trailed, taking the first two games of Set 1 and the first three games of Set 2 en route to an $800 payday. The left-handed Philippova – a finalist for the fourth year in a row – took home half that amount.

"I like to receive first just to take a little pressure off," said Nobler, a teaching pro and mother. "I like to get a groove."

It helps that she's generally accomplished, too. She was an All-American at the University of Oklahoma, used to be an assistant coach at Marquette and earlier this year won singles and doubles titles in the 30s division at the USTA National Hard Court Championship in Austin, Texas.

Next month, Nobler and Northey – by virtue of finishing first at a sectional qualifier – will compete together in the mixed doubles portion of the U.S. Open National Qualifying Championships in New Haven, Conn. The winner of that gains a wild-card spot in the U.S. Open.

Both viewed Sioux Falls as a worthwhile stop on their potentially major journey.

"People in Lincoln talk about it, and Zach and I wanted to practice before August," said Nobler, who dropped only 16 games in four singles matches. "I'm very glad – good practice, a lot of matches."

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

at McKennan Park

Men

Open singles - Semifinal: Zachary Northey def. Alexander Reinke 6-1, 6-1; Harrish Weerasinghe def. Bradley Entwistle 7-5, 6-3

Playoff: Entwistle def. Reinke 6-2, 1-6, 6-3

Final: Weeasinghe def. Northey 7-6, 6-3(3)

3.0 singles - Final: Amalraj def. Johnson 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

3.5 singles - Round robin: Amalraj def. Timothy Ness 6-1, 6-0; Craig Engelhart def. Brandon Groen 6-0, 6-0

4.0 singles - Semifinal: Jason Holoch def. Ryan Troyer 6-4, 6-0; Dan Healy def. Kevin Spiczka 6-4, 6-0

Final: Holoch def. Healy 6-0, 6-3

4.5 singles - Final: Adrian Gaty (SF) def. Charles Provencio (SF) 6-2, 7-5

35 singles - Round robin: Darin Rima (SF) def. Scott Cantine (SF) 6-4, 7-5; Kamran Ahar (Lakeville, Minn.) def. Darcy Hanson (Wilrose, N.D.) 6-4, 6-0

45 singles - Round robin: Hanson def. Lance Sitzmann (Le Mars, Iowa) 6-3, 7-5; Tony Weeks (Winnipeg, Manitoba) def. Mark Ference (Pipestone, Minn.) 6-3, 6-1

Women

Open singles - Playoff: Caroline Ward (Edina, Minn.) def. Michaela Schulz (Elk River, Minn.) 6-1, 6-1

Final: Heather Nobler (Lincoln, Neb.) def. Veronika Philippova (Chicago) 6-3, 6-3

3.5 singles - Round robin: Melanie Johnson (SF) def. Jennifer Kirby (SF) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3; Antje Peters (SF) def. Jennifer Wanek (Fargo) 6-0, 6-2

4.5 singles - Round robin: Patricia Hinrichs (SF) Kirby 6-2, 6-0; Carmen O'Neill (Huron) def. Susan Benson (SF) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles

Men

Open doubles -Semifinals: Raoul Schwark (Edina, Minn.)/Weeasinghe def. Benny Barnes (SF)/Matthew Monaghan (Glasgow, Lanarkshire) 6-3, 6-3; Matthew Baker (Rosemount, Minn.)/Entwistle def. Alexander Reinke (Bethesda, Md.)/Chuck Tang (Rapid City) Def (ns)

Final: Schwark/Weeasinghe def. Baker/Entwistle 6-1, 6-1

35 doubles - Final: Fred Budde (Eagan, Minn.)/Kenneth Cychosz (Apple Valley, Minn.) def. Alvin Freserikson (Grand Forks, N.D.)/Tony Weeks (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 6-3, 6-1

Combined 8.0 doubles - Final:Terry Hofer (SF)/Chad Pesicka (SF) def. David Darr (SF)/ Gary Goldade (SF) 6-1, 6-3

Combined 9.0 doubles - Semfinal: Michael Knigge (Huron)/Logan Meyer (Huron) def. Steve Morgans (SF)/Emilio Navarro (SF) 6-1, 7-6(4)

Final: Matt Johnson (SF)/ Krueger Thomas (SF) def. Knigge/Meyer 6-3,6-2

Women

Open doubles - Semifinal: Morgan Brower (SF)/Sidney Brower (SF) def. Jillian Hurley (SF)/Caroline Ward (Edina, Minn) 6-3, 6-4; Mckinney Harwood (Omaha)/Heather Nobler (Lincoln, Neb.) def. Christine Olivo (Bozeman, Mont.)/Heather Sullivan (Mankato, Minn.) 6-3, 6-0

Final: McKinney/Nobler def. Brower/Brower 6-3, 6-3

Combined 7.0 doubles - Round robin: Mary Gomarko (Brandon)/Jennifer Gomarko (SF) def. Jill Heesch (Bloomington, Minn.)/Sharon Morgas (SF) 6-1, 6-0; Lydia Healy (SF)/Rhonda Lockwood (SF) def. Carrie Cronen (SF)/Melanie Johnson (SF) 6-1, 6-1

Combined 8.0 doubles - Final: Laura Klinkhammer (SF)/Alissa Rothenberger (Saint Peter, Minn.) def. Betty McNeil (Mitchell)/ Mary Thompson (SF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Combined 9.0 doubles - Final: Leah Branaugh (Yankton)/Carmen O'Neill (Huron) def. Susan Oertel (Decorah, Iowa)/Mary Thompson (SF) 7-5, 6-1

Mixed

Open Doubles - Semifinal: Nobler/Northey def. Jackson Buchanan (Saint Paul)/Lawrence Meredith (Prior Lake, Minn.) 6-0, 6-0; Schwark/Schwark def. Ackert/Hurley 6-1, 6-1

Final: Nobler/Northey def. Schwark/Schwark 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1

Combined mixed 6.0 - Round robin: Sheldon Koski (SF)/Lockwood def. Johnson/Johnson 6-1, 6-0

Cimbined mixed 7.0 - Round robin: Lydia Healy (SF)/Dan Healy (SF) def. Kam Venhuizen-Stupka (Ankeny, Iowa)/Kenneth Venhuizen (SF) 7-6(4), 6-0

Combined mixed 8.0 - Round robin: Lynn Jorde (Saint Cloud, Minn.)/Collin Jordre def. Leah Branaugh (Yankton)/Chad Larson (Mitchell) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Larura Klinkhammer (SF)/Curtis Wong (SF) def. Rothenberger/Rothenberger 7-6(4), 6-2

Comined mixed 9.0 - Round robin: Braden Bradfield (SF)/Jessica Daw (Aberdeen) def. Drew Nielsen (SF)/Abby Seigenthaler (SF) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; Bradfield/Daw def. Thomas Chiu (SF)/Christine Dummermuth (SF) 7-5, 7-5

Open