Harts to believe this trip

Philip Marruffo/Gazette Sterling's Michael Harts finished third at the Moline Sectional on Saturday to advance to the state tournament in Arlington Heights on Thursday.

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Sitting on the blue stone steps separating the two levels of courts at Sterling High School after the NCIC meet, Michael Harts reached the personal low point of his season.

After losing a tough second-round match to Ottawa's Alex Fleshman, Harts was upset in the third-place match by Geneseo's Jacob Wyffels.

"He just beat me, and it was as simple as that," Harts said. "I've really learned this season that every time you step on the court in this area that the guy across from you can beat you."

It was the low point, but it was not match point. In fact, it was only the latest in the series of points that led to last weekend's sectional in Moline and this weekend's state tennis meet on the District 214 Courts at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.

Before Friday, Harts had twice participated in the sectional at Moline, and twice Harts was turned away a match short of advancing to state. Last Friday, Harts moved past the qualifying match to the second day of the sectional, where he once again locked horns with Geneseo's Wyffels. Harts took care of business 6-1, 6-0 to place third.

"I learned after conference that you have to bounce back," Harts said. "I could have easily said to myself that he beat me, so he'll probably beat me again. Tennis is a mental game. You have to forget the tough matches because it will make you're life a lot easier."

Harts was not the only one relieved that he became the first Warrior since Nate Chattic in 2000 to advance to state as an individual. His coach and father Larry Harts watched from the sideline.

"I was in a meeting today (Monday) with Sterling's athletic director, Bruce Scheidegger, and my fellow coach John Underwood, and we were talking about Michael going to state," Larry Harts said. "It was then that it just hit me. Man, Michael is going to state. After being so close the last two years, it was just an amazing feeling."

Now Harts enters the point of no return. State is a place he's never even seen, much less played in.

"Losing the way I have the last two years was just so disappointing that I didn't even want to think about tennis for awhile," Harts said. "I didn't even want to go and watch. Now I feel so blessed to have a chance. Once I qualified, I just fell to my knees, I could barely believe it."

Not having been to the state meet, Harts enters this weekend with hopes of qualifying for the second day of matches. In order to do so, Harts will need to navigate through at least three rounds of play. To succeed at state, he must manage each match like he has his career: by handling it a point at a time.

"It's what my coaches are always telling me to do," Harts said. "In the qualifying match at sectional, they kept telling me to forget about state and what the match meant. It's all about winning from each point and learning from each point."