Published Saturday | October 13, 2007

State Tennis: Unsung heroes boost Spartans

BY GRAHAM ARCHER

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

While the crowds gathered for the No. 1 singles final, Lincoln East clinched its first state title since 1995, and yet it went unnoticed by many at the Koch Family Tennis Center for the final day of the state tournament on Friday.

Omaha Burke's Jackson Withrow won the No. 1 singles title with a three-set victory over Papillion-La Vista South's John DeVose, the champion in 2005. "I just had to gain my composure back," Withrow said, "and get into the third set and grind with him."

Just a short walk away, the Spartans' No. 2 doubles team scored the match point against Omaha Creighton Prep to earn the gold medal and the two points that guaranteed the Class A team title.

The 41⁄2-point Spartan team victory marked the end: Creighton Prep relinquished the crown for the first time since 2001.

East's winning No. 2 doubles duo of Garth Hamilton and David Meagher knew immediately that their win was huge, even if the fans didn't flock to the matchup.

"There's no better feeling, clinching it for the team and winning the gold after all we've been through and all we've worked towards," said Meagher, runner-up at the 2006 tournament. "It's just great."

"We just started high-fiving people," added Hamilton.

Omaha Burke freshman Jackson Withrow, the top seed in No. 1 singles, won the championship with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 victory over 2005 No. 1 singles champion John DeVose of Papillion-La Vista South.

It was their third meeting this season and Withrow's third victory.

He jumped out to a 6-2 first-set victory with consistently well-placed shots. DeVose fought back in the second set with his powerful serve and by cutting down on mistakes to win by the same margin. Then the Bulldog bit back in the third set to complete an undefeated season.

"It's always a little exciting to win the first set and build a little bit of momentum going into the second set," Withrow said. "But he crawled back into it, and I just had to gain my composure back and get into the third set and grind with him."

In the No. 1 doubles final, Andrew Mellen of Omaha Westside claimed his third straight gold medal, this one with teammate Ke Arkfeld. They fought back in three sets to defeat Lincoln Southeast's Seth Garnett and Seth Shimerda, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. That helped the Warriors finish third in the team race with 36 points.

"I'm just glad that I can say that I made a difference for the team," Mellen said.

Lincoln East came into the day with a four-point lead over the Junior Jays, and used a pair of third-place victories at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, a fourth-place finish at No. 1 doubles and the No. 2 doubles title to stay in front. A key upset win by Garnett and Shimerda over Prep's Alex Walls and Dominic Cimino took away the Junior Jays' biggest opportunity to earn some much-needed points. The Junior Jays finished in second with 37 points overall.

Prep coach Mike Higgins said he thought the tournament was a learning experience. "I just hope the younger guys see how competitive it is here," he said. "I hope they see that very small differences can have a big impact."

Lincoln East features six multi-sport athletes. "This team has so much heart," coach Jeff Hoham said. "They have that special ingredient that lacks sometimes in smaller sports, too, and that's that they had that athletic approach in wanting to finish it.

"They drew on past experiences in basketball playing in front of big crowds and in soccer playing in front of 4,500 people in the state final. They drew upon that and they had a common vision and a common goal, and that's why we are standing here holding this trophy right now."