Warren's Gudeman gets win No. 100 in sectional
It was a milestone day for Samuel Gudeman of Warren on Saturday afternoon.
The Blue Devils senior won his 100th match in doubles, becoming the sixth player to reach that level in school history. He's also the first one to accomplish a trip to the state tournament in all four years, and he's got a shot at being one of the finalists for the state sportsmanship award.
Gudeman was teamed up with Scott Seiler as they qualified for next weekend's state tournament with a third-place finish after topping Grayslake Central's Richard Hutchins/ Tejas Paruthooli 6-2, 6-1.
Lake Forest won the sectional with 36 points, advancing both of its singles and doubles entrants to the state tournament. Warren was second (17), followed by Grayslake Central (14) and Antioch (13) in the 10-team Antioch sectional held at Lakes.
For Gudeman, reaching victory No. 100 in the accumulated evidence of perseverance.
"It's awesome, and it feels like I've come full circle with tennis," Guterman said. "I came in knowing that I needed 1 win for the 100. I knew I would get it and I was determined to get it.
"At the beginning I had no idea that I would ever get to 100. It took a lot of hard matches - and a lot of hard losses. A lot of bad losses, and hard wins. You just have to keep going and get back out there."
Gudeman will be making his fourth trip to the state tournament, three of which will include Seiler. He has reached the top 32 in his freshman and junior years. But had to default in his state match sophomore year because of a concussion injury and associated issues.
"Back in that year, I had a concussion injury in basketball," said Gudeman, who got hurt in a church league game, bonking his head on the hardwood floor. "I was out for about three-quarters of the season in my sophomore year. I had to work through it all.
"At first, everything was taken away from me with my coordination. Even my vision was weird. Walking back on the court, I didn't have what I had before. It definitely took on a lot of rough practice days and rough matches. I knew I had to work harder for it, and go get it."
Lake Forest's doubles team of Ben Kasbeer/Colton England defeated Guteman/Seiler 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals. Then, in an all-Scouts doubles final, Greg Frauenheim /Jordon O'Kelly defeated Kasbeer/England by default. Frauenheim/O'Kelly beat the Rams' Hutchins/Paruthooli 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals.
In singles, Brice Polender got past his younger brother Conner by default for the singles title.
"There are strong teams out there that didn't get all four to state," said Lake Forest coach Corky Leighton, who has finished the state runner-up the last two years. "This does make it a little bit easier at state. These guys are pumped up for state. We've had a lot of competition throughout the year."
Braden Ward of Antioch finished third in the North Suburban Conference meet on Monday. He also advanced to state with a third-place sectional finish following a victory over Warren state qualifier Nick Skradski 6-1, 6-3.
"This year, I thought the third-place match was a higher quality match," said Ward, who for a second straight year finished in the sectional to net a third straight trip to state. "I thought I played well and I now I'm looking for a couple good wins at state."
Ward dropped his semifinal match to the Scouts' Brice Polender 6-0, 6-1. While Connor Polender defeated Skradski in the other semifinal 6-1, 6-3.