BEST IN STATE: Tigers' doubles duo Gray/Trimpe brings crown back to Southern Illinois

May 28, 2017 8:54 AM May 28, 2017 8:58 AM

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Edwardsville's boys tennis doubles team of Alex Gray and Zach Trimpe are state champions.

Gray/Trimpe won their final two matches Saturday to win the IHSA Class 2A doubles title in the state tennis tournament at Arlington Heights Hersey, helping the Tigers to a ninth-place team finish with 18 points; Naperville Central edged out Winnetka New Trier 28-26 to claim the team title, with Hinsdale Central third at 25 points and Lake Forest and Northbrook Glenbrook North in an equal fourth place with 22 points.

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The Gray/Trimpe title was the first for a Southern Illinois tennis player since 1951 when John Powless of Flora captured the state singles crown. The last state doubles team champion was from Greenville in 1928.

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In Class 1A, Marquette Catholic's Jon Claywell/Daniel McCluskey were eliminated in the consolation bracket quarterfinals as the Explorers finished 19th in the team standings with seven points while Jersey finished in a group tied for 32nd with four points; others in the group were Geneseo, Bloomington and Glen Ellyn Glenbard South. Dunlap won the team title with 28 points, followed by Chicago Latin (24), Lisle Benet Academy (23), Normal University (21) and Chicago University (19).

Gray/Trimpe started the day with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Lake Forest's Jack Armstrong/Connor Polender to move into the final, where they took a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Hinsdale Central's Trevor Hamilton/Andrew Buhelos for the championship.

Marquette's Claywell/McCluskey lost their consolation quarterfinal match to Chicago Latin's Connor Kaniewski/Ben Mitchell 6-1, 6-1. Dunlap's Victor Spolidondo won the singles title over Belvidere North's Anderson Park 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) while Chicago University's Sam Fleming/Arjun Asokumar defeated Dunlap's Steven Chacko/David Wu 6-1, 6-4 for the doubles crown in Class 1A The Class 2A singles crown went to Highland Park's Jacob Edelchik over Park Ridge Maine South's Danilo Kovacevic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.