Naperville Central, Naperville North to add lacrosse

Lacrosse will no longer be outside the umbrella at Naperville Central and Naperville North.

In an excerpt from Monday's District 203 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Dan Bridges said a transition is in place to bring both schools' boys and girls lacrosse clubs under athletic department responsibility beginning in the 2015-16 school year.

Naperville Central athletic director Andy Lutzenkirchen said adding lacrosse was "inevitable."

"It was a matter of when, not if, that it would come into athletics," he said. "We've agreed with the transition. I think it'll be a positive transition, and it gives us a chance to cross the 'T's' and dot the 'I's' so it'll continue to be successful.

"The two (lacrosse) booster boards have been very supportive and great toward me, and understanding. It's exciting for lacrosse, but at the same time it's adding five more levels and teams to what already is a jam-packed spring schedule."

Naperville North athletic director Bob Quinn echoed the "when, not if," theory.

"The sport is here, the sport is coming," Quinn said. "The sport is the fastest-growing sport as there is in this area. I love the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of what we're offering student-athletes."

Though the Huskies and Redhawks lacrosse teams will operate as clubs the remainder of this school year, should the Illinois High School Association offer a state series this spring they will participate.

That possibility is doubtful. The IHSA's Matt Troha said nothing has changed since last December, when the girls and boys teams committed to move from Emerging Sport status to a state series failed to surpass a threshold the IHSA established in August 2013. Though the 43 girls teams surpassed the 40 targeted by the IHSA, the 55 boys teams did not reach the mandated 65.

Bringing lacrosse clubs under district jurisdiction offers pros and cons for both parties.

It saves parents a fistful of dollars, at least up front. At this point Lutzenkirchen believes lacrosse will fall under District 203's "Tier 1" category for athletic fees, similar to football, which is a $100 fee. This is opposed to about $450 to $500 to participate with the club.

District 203 will take on the bulk of the cost - "a significant chunk of change," Quinn said. Lutzenkirchen estimated that chunk was just shy of a $200,000 startup cost for both schools combined.

The clubs' current coaching jobs, particularly the head coaches, are at risk. Naperville North boys coach Kevin Benages is a teacher, so he has a good chance to stick since schools prefer to have at least their head coaches in the building. Lutzenkirchen said after next spring the "slate will be wiped clean and we'll be looking to hire coaches." Club coaches will be able to reapply.

Quinn outlines another problem, the main bugaboo to athletic directors regarding lacrosse.

"How do you squeeze two more programs in during the spring, which is the most facility-driven?" he asked, semi-rhetorically. Battling for outdoor practice and game fields is a given. Figure locker rooms to also be bustling with added commotion.

It also means greater school recognition and, one day soon, IHSA state recognition.

"Ultimately, they're our kids," Quinn said, "and we want to do what's right by our kids."

Good competition

Glenbard South's boys won the Metro Suburban Conference golf championship in 2013, but this year's was a little different. The addition of newcomers from the Suburban Christian Conference changed the metric of the meet from one group of five to two of seven.

Glenbard South won the West Division with the best tournament score of any of the 14 teams, 316, and had the second and third lowest individual scores in Michael Wittenberg's 74 and Russell Matos' 75. Wittenberg actually tied for low round with St. Edward's Michael Mattas, who won on the first hole in a sudden-death playoff.

Wittenberg, a Raiders co-captain with Kevin Uvodich, said this win meant more.

"I think it makes a huge difference, because the two divisions are broken up so it seems like one division is better than the other," said Wittenberg, a senior who hopes to play golf at DePauw in Indiana.

"We didn't know we were going to win it, but we kind of had a feeling we would," he said.

Glenbard South's momentum carried over to Tuesday's Class 2A Montini regional at Plainfield's Links at Carillon. Led by medalist Matos' 70, and fourth- and fifth-place finishes by Wittenberg and Uvodich, respectively, the Raiders won the regional title by 16 strokes.

On Monday they compete at the Nazareth sectional at Broken Arrow Golf Club in Lockport. Coach Scott Iliff's Raiders finished sixth in Class 2A in both 2012 and 2013.

After some uneven 18-hole invites, Wittenberg's Metro West finish calmed the jitters.

"I was a little nervous going into conference, and after that I got a little bit of a boost because I played well," he said.

Mother and daughter reunion

The Scardina Empire is in full sway atop Willowbrook girls tennis.

Christy Scardina is the Warriors' varsity coach, ably assisted on the junior varsity level by her mother, Jerilyn, who from 1977-2010 led Hinsdale Central to 11 state titles.

"It's great to coach with my mom," said Christy, third in state doubles with partner Taylor Martin as a senior in 2004, one of her mother's championship years. "I've learned a lot from playing with her as my coach, and I've learned even more since I graduated college, having her be by my side coaching with me."

This is something of a sea change for Jerilyn Scardina, a member of Hinsdale Central's athletic hall of fame, the Illinois High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame, a Western Illinois University Distinguished Alumni and the National Federation of State High School Associations' 2007 girls tennis coach of the year.

While Hinsdale Central was winning those state championships, Willowbrook was not. The Warriors' third-place finish last year in the West Suburban Conference's Gold Division was a program high-water mark, but after graduating nine seniors, entering Wednesday Willowbrook was 1-5 in conference play.

It's all relative, pardon the pun.

"When they come in (as freshmen) many have never held a tennis racquet. We're not getting people with national experience," said Jerilyn Scardina, in her third season as Willowbrook's JV coach. She was looking to coach in Florida before her daughter asked for her help.

"But you know what," Jerilyn said, "kids are kids, and you set individual goals for them depending on who you're working with."

Willowbrook is led by team captains Dalia Cruz and Aurora Slinkman and other players such as Kellie Langian and Olivia Curcio.

"I'm very proud of them from where they started at Day 1," Christy Scardina said.

Maybe the best aspect of high school sports is the team bonding and camaraderie. Willowbrook girls tennis extends that to the coaching staff.

"It's made our relationship stronger, just working together," said Christy, a physical education teacher at Jackson Middle School in Villa Park. "You learn a lot, and I'd like to think she's learned something from me during the coaching experience."

Yep. Jerilyn has learned her daughter is an ace.

"It's really amazing to see the adult she is now, how organized, how bright she is, the rapport she builds with the girls," she said. "And it probably carries over to her teaching."

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

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