Raiders’ Cucuk shows state tournament form, while Blue Devils capture crosstown dual

QUINCY — Less than a month exists until Marko Cucuk discovers if his dreams of returning to the Illinois boys state tennis tournament become reality.

So now is not the time to relax.

“There’s no stopping,” Cucuk said. “You just have to work every single day.”

Monday, that meant dealing with conditions that have become all too common this spring. The wind whipped at times and temperatures never topped 55 degrees at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park, but Cucuk didn’t allow it to affect his game.

The Quincy Notre Dame junior won both his No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles matches in dominant fashion, while Quincy High School dominated the backend of the draw and came away with a 6-3 victory in the crosstown dual.

“The beginning of the season is always rough because it will always be cold,” said Cucuk, who qualified for the Class 1A state tournament in doubles last year with teammate Andrew Catalpa. “It will be 50s and windy. Toward the end of the season and the postseason, it can get really warm.”

Cucuk wouldn’t mind a spike in the temperatures by May 20, which is when the sectional tournament is scheduled to take place.

“I love it when it’s hotter,” Cucuk said. “Most people don’t, so I enjoy that advantage.”

His length, pace and ability to see the whole court serve as advantages, too. He put all of it to use in the No. 1 singles match, beating the Blue Devils’ Gavin Wang 6-3, 6-2. 

“I think I was aggressive,” Cucuk said. “I knew what his weak spots were and I just kept attacking that. I think that’s what got me the ‘W.’”

The Raiders’ Andrew Catalpa won at No. 2 singles, beating Will Hanlin 6-3, 6-1. The Blue Devils stormed back to win the final four singles, which gave them the edge in the team score.

At No. 3, QHS’s Keshav Ghanekar beat QND’s Alex Strong 6-3, 6-3, while Anderson Knapp picked up a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Ian Paxton at No. 4. The Blue Devils’ Jason Derian scored a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Colin Larson at No. 5, and QHS’s Preston Trinh beat Dan Dyer 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6.

In doubles, Cucuk and Catalpa teamed up for an 8-0 victory over Wang and Hanlin at No. 1.

“We were making minimal errors,” Cucuk said. “We were working nicely together. We knew exactly where we were going to hit it and how we were going to hit it. They just weren’t ready for that. I feel that was one of the best doubles matches we’ve played.”

It’s the culmination of practice and preparation.

“Every practice, we play with each other and see what works for us and what doesn’t work and how we’re going to help each other with everything,” Cucuk said. “So I think we get a lot better every single day.”

The Blue Devils (8-2) won the other two doubles matches.

At No. 2, Derian and Knapp scored an 8-6 victory over Strong and Dyer, while Nguyen and Trinh won at No. 3, beating Paxton and Larson 8-0.