PEORIA — Chase Klaus produced a double-double of sorts on Monday, winning a pair of doubles titles in the 50th Tri-County Tennis Tournament at Bradley’s Markin Courts.
The former Richwoods standout started his title run by teaming with Jordan Nestrud to claim the men’s open doubles title 6-0, 6-2 over the father-son duo of Scott and Zach Settelmyer.
Klaus then teamed with Dunja Antunovic to win the mixed doubles title 6-0, 6-0 over the brother-sister team of Jack and Taylor Disharoon.
Klaus and Nestrud, the top men’s doubles seeds, were the defending champs, but it was the first time Klaus played in the mixed doubles event.
“I just wanted to play as many events as I could, because I love this tournament,” said Klaus, who had a 7-8 finish at state his senior year in 2008 for Richwoods. “It’s just good to see everybody come out and play, because it’s a great event.
“It’s fun to play with people you’ve grown up playing with, and also with the new up-and-coming players. Just being able to see everybody in one draw, that’s fun.”
In the men’s doubles final, Klaus and Nestrud won the first 10 games before Scott Settelmyer held service in the 11th game.
“They were really explosive off the first ball, so you had to be ready,” said Scott Settelmyer, who is 49 years old. “We don’t really play doubles together, just at this tournament. But I got to play with my son, so it can’t be so bad.”
Nestrud, who will be the No. 1 seed in men’s singles, said he was surprised the match went so quickly.
“They’re a really good team, and they’re both really good doubles player,” he said of the Settelmyers. “But a few points here and there just swung our way, and we got off the court quickly.”
In the mixed doubles title match, Klaus and Antunovic, the top seeds, did not face a break point against the second-seeded Disharoons, who both play for Dunlap. Klaus had four aces and won the clinching game on four serves.
“My arm was warmed up, I was just good to go,” he said. “You just go out and play your best and see what happens.”
Antunovic, originally from Hungary, played at DePaul, and is currently an assistant professor in Sports Communication at Bradley.
It was her first try in the Tri-County event.
“I’m still learning about the Peoria tennis community, and I was just ready to play and get out there again,” she said.
In the women’s doubles, Connie Cassidy and Patricia Shaw won their first two matches in the round-robin competition to seal the title before the final match was played on Monday.
Joann Blair and Sandy Sanders claimed second place with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberta Kendzierski and Sigrid Rogers in Monday’s match.
In the men’s 70 doubles, which also was round-robin, Afshin and Shiraz Khaiser went 2-0 to win the title. Manmohan and Arpit Sahoo beat Rajiv Nanjundareddy and Alexander Chacko 6-1, 6-2 to claim second place.
Other titles went to Tom Kendzierski and Paul Lenzen (men’s 90), Jonathan and Stuart Borden (men’s 100/120), Michael Doss and John Love (men’s 140), and Roberta and Tom Kendzierski (mixed 120 doubles).
Johnny Campos can be reached at 696-3214 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @JohnnyCampos59.
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