Quincy’s Willing, Arns sweep Alton Open men’s singles and doubles championships

ALTON, Ill. — The Simpson Tennis Center in Gordon Moore Park turned into Quincy’s playground over the weekend.

Zach Willing rolled to the championship in the men’s open singles division of the Alton Open, and then he teamed with Ethan Arns to capture the open doubles championship. To make it complete, Marko Cucuk won the singles consolation championship.

Willing, the Quincy High School graduate who will be a senior at Quincy University, swept his way to the title match, beating Zacharias Barringer 6-2, 6-1, Robert Miksell 6-3, 6-0 and Arns 6-3, 6-3. In the championship match, Willing defeated Alton’s Devan Faulkenberg 6-2, 6-0.

Willing won the Quincy Tennis Association city championship in June.

After losing his first match, Cucuk rallied to win four consecutive matches, beating Robert White 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), Reece Ratloff 6-1, 6-2, Ryan Cochran 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and Stetson Isringhausen 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 10-4.

In the doubles division, Willing and Arns opened with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Gavin Sohn and Miksell. In the semifinals, they beat Faulkenberg and his brother, Dylan, 6-4, 6-2. In the finals, Willing and Arns outlasted Clinton Vanvalkenburgh and Steve Moehn 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

Willing and Arns are the reigning Quincy city doubles champions with the 2023 city doubles tournament looming July 21-23 at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park.