Buffalo Grove tandem bows out of state tourney
There can be no doubting that Buffalo Grove's doubles team of Peter Georgiades and Anton Levitin played beyond its wildest expectations during the first day of the state tournament.
Georgiades and Levitin went all the way though to the round of 16 on their home court, but their hopes were dashed Friday in Palatine by Edwardsville in two long sets.
After falling in their quarterfinal to 5-8 seed David Zakhodin/Miguel Perez of Glenbrook North at Buffalo Grove, the Bison (30-6) were eliminated with a 7-5, 7-6 (5) loss to the Tigers.
"Glenbrook North was a very good team, and I thought we played some good points with them, but they won the big points in a big way, and that's just the way it goes," Levitin said.
"It's always tough going out for good, but we had a great tournament, got really far, and had a very good season to be proud of," added Georgiades, a senior who will attend Harper College next fall.
The Mid-Suburban League champs held their own at the highly-competitive Highland Park sectional before reeling off three consecutive victories on the first day of the state finals, the last coming against New Trier to advance to the round of 16.
Mack Galvin of Rolling Meadows missed out on his chance at a spot in the round of 16 with a loss to 3-4 seed Ben VanDixhorn of Libertyville on Thursday on the Mustangs' home court.
But the sophomore came back to win his first match in the backdraw on Friday in three sets over DuPage Valley Conference champ Brett Meyer of Neuqua Valley 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. He then fell to Naperville Central freshman Bill Zhang, ending his chances at a second straight top-24 finish.
"I came up a little short against Zhang," said Galvin, the two-time MSL champ. "He had 5 set points and I was able to cut that down to just 1 but I couldn't get over the hump in order to beat him.
"I am still proud of my season, and I know there's a few things to get to work on during the off-season. Maybe with the extra work, I can be playing in the round of 16 once again, and beyond, next year."
Galvin finished with a sparkling 36-5 overall record.
Barrington's No. 1 team of Ishaan Jaglan-Scott Apmann ran into an old nemesis in Oak Park-River Forest's Johan Phillion/Miles Blim. For the second time this season, the Huskies came away with a victory, this one ending the state tournament for the Broncos pair.
"It was a fun, and great first day for us as we got to play in front of our friends and classmates at Barrington," Jaglan said. "After getting over a case of the jitters, we went out and played some very good tennis before running into a great Highland Park team which sent us into the backdraw today."
At Palatine on Friday, the Broncos pair turned in back-to-back command performances during their first two contests before OPRF ended the run.
"The boys came out and played maybe their best tennis of the season," said Broncos coach John Roncone. "And that's something to be proud and to build off of heading into their final season next spring when they will open as doubles partners during our weekend competition."
Four-time state qualifier Andre Norasith of South Elgin was unable to solve Zhang during a 6-4, 6-3 loss at Wheeling on Friday.
Despite the defeat, South Elgin coach Brett Johnson heaped praise on his senior standout.
"Andre is an exceptional player, as well as an exceptional team player," Johnson said. "After he won his sectional championship last weekend, the first words out of his mouth was that he wished his entire team would have qualified, so they could all enjoy and celebrate being together one last time on the courts for the state tournament. He's quite a young man."
"It is all about my team," said Norasith, who has over 100 career victories for the Storm. "I've been very fortunate to be able to play at South Elgin. I've been lucky to have so many great memories while here, including my first trip the tournament, and this year, when I won the sectional title and qualified before winning three matches on the first day."
Norasith will attend Lewis University next fall and continue to play tennis while there.
Eddie Grabill and defending champion Martin Joyce both earned spot in the singles semifinals, and Hinsdale Central also has both doubles teams in the semis as the Red Devils built an insurmountable lead over Lake Forest (48-35) heading into the final day of competition.