Libertyville, Stevenson very much in the state running
Ben VanDixhorn and Stefano Tsorotiotis advanced into the round of 16 of the boys tennis state tournament for a second consecutive year, while Stevenson remains in the hunt for a trophy as the first day of competition came to a close.
The Libertyville singles players started quickly Thursday and never eased off the pedal as they dispatched three opponents to earn spots in Friday's 8 a.m. quarterfinals in Arlington Heights at tourney host Hersey High School.
Meanwhile, Stevenson trails only reigning state champion Hinsdale Central in the team standings, 24-21. And the Patriots begins Day 2 with three of their four still alive in the front draw. Lyons Township and New Trier round out the top three teams with 20 points.
Warm weather greeted the 64-man singles and doubles fields at 11 venues in the Mid-Suburban League. Tourney veterans VanDixhorn (27-2) and Stevenson's Colin Harvey (19-9) knew what course to take to stay fresh.
"It's all about getting through your matches today as quick and efficient as possible, and then going home to begin hydrating and staying cool in advance of tomorrow, which is a very important day of tennis for me," said VanDixhorn, who will face 9-16 seed Mark Wu of Glenbrook North on Friday morning.
Harvey agreed with that assessment, after recording a trio of three-set victories in Hoffman Estates on Thursday. That sets him up for a match with defending state champion Eddie Grabill (28-4) of Hinsdale Central.
"We all would rather play in this type of weather, rather than some of the nasty stuff we've seen here - cold, wind, rain - but with that said, you don't want to be out here any longer than you have to. I tried to get some shade when I could at the end of the court, and up against the fence. It really seemed to help keep me cool during the day."
Harvey's teammates at doubles, younger brother Matt along with Adam Maryniuk (26-8), had a bit of a scare during their third match at Fremd, falling behind Jonathan Koons/Alex Gray of Edwardsville 1-5 in the first set before roaring back to win 7-5, then finishing it off with a 6-2 second-set triumph to earn a spot opposite Oak Park-River Forest's Joe Gullo/Jacob Pailey.
"We came out of the gate a bit slow and a little too passive, but realized that being aggressive was the way to go," said Maryniuk, a senior. "We gained a lot of energy at 2-5, and just started attacking everything that came at us afterward."
The Pats' No. 2 team of Benjamin Bush/Josh Cheng will join their teammates Friday morning at Buffalo Grove and will face 5-8 seed Kiran Patel/O'Connor-Zach Settelmyer (32-2) of Peoria Richwoods.
Bush and Cheng won in straight sets throughout Thursday, ending with a 6-0, 7-6 (5) victory over 17-32 seed Scott Apmann/Matt Mulligan of Barrington.
"Stevenson was a very good team, and (Bush) in particular was hitting one killer overhead after another when they needed it," said Apmann.
Tsorotiotis (12-1) dropped a total of just 7 games for the day. He'll next meet three-time state qualifier Mack Galvin (33-4) of Rolling Meadows.
"Stefano was cool and calm today, and didn't let any outside influences effect his play. If he stays that way this weekend, he can go a long way," said Libertyville coach Dan Kiernan, who watched his doubles team of Michael Gasick-Julian Janczak threaten 9-16 New Trier (Jeffrey Chen-Mahir Wagh) before falling in straight sets after opening the day with a pair of victories.
Michael Butler/Kevin Hunt (Carmel) began the day at Buffalo Grove with two easy victories before getting bumped into the backdraw by 5-8 seed Chase Sturne/Jacob Hamilton of Belleville East 6-1, 6-3. Next up for the Corsairs' duo will be Normal Community's John Hansen/Justin Tilford in Mt. Prospect.
Samuel Gudeman's wonderful career at Warren came to an end when he and doubles partner Scott Seiler lost their second match of the day, finishing up 2-2 overall in the tourney. That gives Gudeman 102 career victories over four years under coach Greg Cohen.
Warren junior Nick Skradski is done after two losses at singles, as is Antioch junior, Braden Ward (29-6), who captured his first tournament victory in three tries in his tourney opener at Schaumburg High School.
"Braden is so quiet and stoic, and he wasn't even smiling when he came off after that win, but I soon saw him crack a smile when he began to text friends, so I knew how happy he was to finally lift that weight off his shoulders," said Antioch coach Jamie D'Andrea.
Richard Hutchins/Tejas Paruthooli put up a good fight before seeing their first tournament appearance come to an end, as the Grayslake Central pair lost a three-set heartbreaker in the first round but fired back to win the next contest before falling 6-2, 6-4 to a team from Illiana Christian.
Tournament officials decided early in the day to begin all Friday rounds one hour earlier than usual in hopes of beating a weather system that is expected to bring rain in the early afternoon hours.