State boys tennis: Stevens sews up first team title

By Jim Holland, Journal Sports Writer | Sunday, May 21, 2006

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RAPID CITY -- Corey Paluch's forehand blast landed just inside the far right corner, just out of reach of Roman Dojcak of Sioux Falls O'Gorman, and the Rapid City Stevens Raiders celebrated their first state championship in boys tennis Saturday at Rapid City's Sioux Park.

Paluch, a senior, and his cousin, freshman Billy Paluch, put an exclamation point on the day by winning the first-flight doubles championship over Dojcak and Nolan Wiese of O'Gorman.

They joined four other Raider teammates in piling up 750 points to breeze to the first boys tennis championship in the school's 36-year history, and in the first state tournament hosted in Rapid City in 36 years.

O'Gorman was second with 589 points, with Brookings (428), Watertown (406) and Aberdeen Roncalli (365) rounding out the top five.

"This is just so important for all the kids that played for the Raiders forever," Stevens coach Jason Olson said. "There were 20 former Stevens players here today, even from my era back in the '80s and they all felt part of this today. And it was for all 42 kids on the team, who were 53-0 for the season."

The Paluchs rallied from a deep hole in the second set to successfully defend their doubles title, winning for the second straight year over Dojcak and Wiese.

"I did everything I could to get up there and just get it back," said Corey Paluch of the return shot that sent Dojcak diving in vain. "We came from a 4-1 deficit in the second set and just played strong."

"I love it," Billy Paluch added. "I was having fun. That's all I need to win."

The Raiders swept the doubles flights, with seventh-grader Jack Hamburg and junior Cody Malik teaming up to defeat Rapid City Central's Cale Barber and Evan Sims in Flight 2, and J.J. Schultz and Gib Moyle beating Kyle Christianson and Danny Towle of Watertown in Flight 3.

Stevens all but put a lock on the championship by winning all of the morning semifinal matches.

Claiming singles champions for the Raiders were Billy Paluch (Flight 2), Moyle (Flight 3), Hamburg (Flight 4) and Schultz (Flight 6).

"We came through. Winning seven out of nine flights, two second places, I don't think that can be equaled," said Olson.

The Raiders gained some breathing room Friday when O'Gorman's No. 2 and 3 doubles teams both fell.

The Knights still had plenty of fight, however, placing five of six singles players and one doubles team in the finals.

O'Gorman claimed two flight championships, with seventh-grader Brad Entwistle holding off Malik's second set comeback to claim Flight 5 singles with a 6-0, 7-5 win.

Dojcak denied Corey Paluch a Flight 1 singles title with an emotion-charged 6-1, 6-4 win.

"My serve was going pretty well and I was pretty consistent. It's simple, but it works," said Dojcak, a second-year foreign exchange student from Slovakia who has signed to play at Gonzaga next year.

As a junior for the Knights last year, Dojcak made the Flight 1 finals, only to be forced to withdraw because of dehydration in his match with Pierre's Chris Williams.

"No leg cramps today. I prepared pretty well," Dojcak said.

Corey Paluch was taken to three sets in the semifinals by Brookings' B.J. Flynn to become the winningest boys singles player in state history with 126 wins, but he couldn't duplicate his only win over Dojcak in the Greater Dakota Conference tournament finals two weeks ago in Sioux Falls.

"He was playing well. I was playing well. There were a couple points that went his way that could've went my way and the match would have been different," said Paluch, his voice choking with emotion.

Olson couldn't say enough about Paluch's rebound in the doubles final.

"To win his last match on court one, to go out undefeated as doubles champion with his cousin and for his teammates was just huge," Olson said.

Wiese also gave Billy Paluch all he could handle in the Flight 2 finals. Wiese, a senior headed for Brevard College in North Carolina next fall, rallied from a 6-2 first set loss to win 6-2, then finally fall 6-3 to Paluch in a tense match played out in the peak of the afternoon heat.

The win gave Billy Paluch and teammate Jack Hamburg the distinction of being the only players in the state to be undefeated in both singles and doubles play for the year.

"I was real proud of our kids. We battled real hard and gave it everything we had. Stevens was just a better team," said O'Gorman coach Don Barnes.

"Stevens certainly could be back since they only lose Corey. We'll have some spots to fill, but we've got some young kids we left at home that are pretty good. Hopefully they'll get better and we'll be back here again."

Rapid City Central finished sixth with 318 points. The Cobblers placed sophomores Evan Sims and Cale Barber in the Flight 2 finals where they fell 6-2, 6-2 to Hamburg and Malik.

Sims bounced back from a first-round loss on Thursday to claim the Flight 3 consolation championship with a 10-2 win over Trevor Freet of Madison.

Ryan Barber, a senior for the Cobblers, placed sixth in Flight 1, and was also honored with the Spirit of Max award, named after Max Beener, a Sioux Falls Roosevelt tennis player who died from cancer in 1999.

"I can't think of anything nicer than that for Ryan, who is one of the finest young men, and his family," said Cobbler coach Scott Sturlaugson.

St, Thomas More's Yanik Graf, a senior foreign exchange student from Germany, was named to the all-tournament team leading the Cavaliers to a school-record 200 points and 11th place.

Graf made the semifinals in Flight 1 where he was defeated by Dojcak 6-2, 6-2. Graf settled for fourth after a gritty

10-6 battle with Flynn.

Also named to the all-tournament team, were Dojcak, Wiese, Billy Paluch, Corey Paluch, Hamburg, Malik, Moyle, Schultz, and Flynn.