Galvin, Chon aiming for single-class success
The winds of change are upon the high school tennis scene - and the breeze is an unwelcome one to some.
This will be the final year of one-class IHSA tennis.
In the fall, with a cutoff of 1,350, girls tennis will split into two classes. In the spring of 2017, the same change will occur with boys tennis, with a cutoff at 1,450. Each class will have 16 sectionals, and the advancement to the state tournament will remain the same.
While sectionals and ultimately the usual 64-player state field remain intact, two state tournaments will run simultaneously, and at the same hosting venue.
Stay tuned. There will be plenty of conversation on this topic in the coming months for sure.
With that said, there will no changes at the top of the respective lineups in the immediate future at Rolling Meadows and Palatine, where a couple of classy competitors will be back for their fourth and final seasons.
Mack Galvin, the three-time Mid-Suburban League champ and state qualifier, finds himself at the top of the group at No. 1 singles once again following his best season of his career thus far, one that included 4 wins at the state tourney to give him 34 on the season.
"Obviously, you always wanting to be playing into the third day of the tournament, but I felt that I played about as well as I could last season," Galvin said. "I know there were things that I learned in which I took into the off-season that will help give me a chance to play far into the third day of my last season here."
The Air Force Academy-bound Galvin revved up his conditioning to ensure his fitness will better than ever before, while extra time in the weight room will help place him a situation where both physically and mentally he can compete with the favorites in what appears to be a wide-open singles race in late May.
"When you get to the state tournament, the plan is to always make as quick work as you can of your opponents on that first day in order to get home early, eat right and rest in order for that big second day of competition," said Galvin. "Last year, for example, the weather was warm, and all of the effects left over from the first day really come into play on day No. 2 when there's so much more pressure, the points go longer, there's more at stake, and obviously you're playing top competition. If you don't have the mental and physical toughness needed to play at a high level, you're going to find yourself in the backdraw right away. All of that extra work during the off-season was geared to that second day at the tournament, and I'll continue to keep that focus throughout this season, and leading up to the conference tournament, then sectionals."
Galvin says the added muscle will pay its biggest dividend in his serve, where a higher percentage equates to moving on more efficiently.
Chon, meanwhile, did much of same type of work over the summer. His changes include a new private coach who has helped him achieve a higher percentage on his second serve, as well as fine tuning his forehand.
"I'm excited for this upcoming season, especially after falling short in making to the state tournament at doubles with my partner last year, Mark Scovic," said Chon, who nearly got to 20 wins for head coach Jim Lange as the Pirates' No. 1.
"David is the best player that I've had the opportunity to coach here in the boys program," said Lange. "He is a great kid who leads by example, and he is poised to to have another great year for us and himself after another grueling off-season of work on his game."
Chon began his career at the No. 2 spot in the Pirates' lineup. Then, after a solid sophomore year as the club's top player, Chon was moved to doubles for sectionals, where he and his partner lost in the qualifying round. It was more of the same last year when Chon and Scovic had their hopes dashed by Libertyville, which later went on to nab a top-32 finish.
"Being around coach Lange is great," said Chon. "He's compassionate about the sport, enjoys being around the players and the sport, and he's just a good guy who makes playing a lot of fun."
Chon, who will decide soon whether he will make either Ohio State or the Milwaukee School of Engineering his new address next fall, endured a junior campaign hampered by nagging back issues. Chon says he's taken additional steps to help keep healthy for his senior year.
Mid-Suburban
Barrington claimed the MSL title long before the early stages of the third day of the annual conference tournament got under way last year, putting the final touches on its 26 point victory over runner-up Prospect by sweeping all four flights of doubles by a senior-dominated bunch.
The Broncos were hit hardest than most by graduation, losing all six of its state qualifiers. But everyone agrees, the reigning champs are still a team to be reckoned with.
"I know the type of program John (Roncone) runs, and it always has plenty of depth and talent each and every year, and although the names this season might not be familiar as they have in the past, I can tell you that Barrington will contend for the MSL West title once again," says Palatine coach Lange.
"Fremd has been down the last couple of years, but they have a number of guys back, plus the addition of what I hear is a pretty good freshman, while teams like Hersey have really come around, thanks to its head coach Andy Walton - as well as Prospect, who this year is the great unknown with a new head coach who leads a team that had an outstanding conference tournament last year."
Vikings coach Matt Duncan will team Justin Piotrowski and James Feng at No. 1 doubles, using two of the few seniors he has to give a rather young team some veteran leadership. Freshmen Kazuki Matsumo and Sean Hishinuma hold down the Nos. 1 and 2 spots at singles.
"We're still very young this year, but the freshman talent we've added has helped increase our depth, and it's because of that depth upgrade at our top positions that I feel we can challenge the top teams in the conference this year," said Duncan.
Chon is the player to keep an eye on for Palatine, which has reloaded nicely, thanks in part to assistant Bruce Wedell, according to Lange, who figures on veteran Connor Joseph and Jack Wiebe to take over at No. 1 doubles.
Not to be overlooked in the division is Conant, which, after finishing third overall at the conference tournament, fired back one week later to capture a sectional title while advancing both of its doubles team into the state tournament.
"Our goal is to build on what we accomplished last year, and while we lost five starters, including out other state qualifiers (Matt Meyers and Glenn Huang), we do return Nico (Rosas) and Nikhil (Modak) who came together after playing at No. 1 and 2 singles to reach the state tournament," says Conant coach Dave Koleno, who added an experienced USTA player in freshman Vera Iyer to his club.
All of this chatter has caught the attention of Roncone.
"The division appears to be so much better this season, and Mack Galvin, who has represented Rolling Meadows and the conference with great class, is the reason that the conference (overall) will be deeper and tougher to beat than it was a year ago," said Barrington's coach.
Roncone last year guided his team to a third consecutive MSL championship, and after its sectional title at Cary-Grove, Barrington went on to finish 12th overall at the state tournament.
Seniors Cam Holzman and Samit Sinha, MSL doubles champs at No. 3 and 4 last year, will move into the No. 1 spot this spring, while Mohammed Walji, a MSL champ at No. 2, joins Rohan Katakam and freshmen Dylan Er to form a solid singles group.
"We've been very happy thus far with the play of Dylan. He's tournament tested, and has shown he can use the entire court, while finishing off points, which is very important for young players at singles," said Roncone.
On the other side of the league, Hersey will be looking for a second consecutive divisional crown, while Prospect and new coach Brad Rathe has other ideas.
"Talent-wise, I feel that our 2016 team is every bit as strong, if not stronger than last year," said Hersey coach Andy Walton, "but the division should be pretty tight with Prospect having a solid team back from last year, and Meadows always being a factor just because of Mack Galvin."
Walton guided his club to the first division title in program history with a group he said exhibited unbelievable energy and heart, and, of course some nice talent up and down its lineup. Though four have graduated from last year, the Huskies return seven from that championship club and have added a quartet of newcomers who look to be ready to make their mark.
Rathe takes over at Prospect for former Knights star Tom Kujawa, who left his counterpart a strong core responsible for the team's second-place overall finish in last year's conference tournament.
"I know we didn't win the division, but the guys came back to have a very good showing at the MSL tournament, so that's something we'll build on as we go out this year looking to win a division title outright," said Rathe.
The Knights have four seniors - David Slupski, Steve Norton, Adam Nadler and Michael Schwingbeck - who will offer much flexibility in the doubles lineup, allowing a younger singles bunch to find their way.
"We will have a young but talented lineup with a nice group of seniors who will lead the way at the top of the lineup, so I am excited to see what they all can do in a competitive setting," Rathe said.
Junior Markos Christoforou's strong stretch run landed the top player from Elk Grove in his first state tournament, and the hope is the Grens junior will make that trip once again in this, his third consecutive season at the No. 1 spot.
Central Suburban
Armed with lineups filled with one state qualifier after another, there's no other tennis conference in the state like the CSL.
Deerfield, Glenbrook North, Highland Park and New Trier all finished in the top eight last season at the state tournament, and this season, and just as so many years before, all four figure to compete for state trophies in late May. But three of the four are all to be found in the same sectional.
Despite being surrounded by all this talent, Maine West coach Derrick Swistak remains ultra-positive with the progress of his program which, by the way, has had its fair share of success during the past few seasons, including a couple of his doubles teams advancing to the state tournament, most recently, Patrick Czuj and Henry Nguyen, who did so two years ago.
Nguyen returns this year, and is part of Swistaks' top seven, while Czuj moved on, and is now a student at DePaul University.
"We've got a real nice core back, in addition to a couple of young guys, sophomores Willie Le and Cole Kelly, who both improved dramatically from their off-season work to grab a spot on our varsity roster, and I look for both to be huge figures in our program for the next couple of years," said Swistak.
Senior Jackson Torkelson, juniors Djordje Lojanica and Jeffrey Celenza and sophomores Jason Elangical and Brian Patterson are among those Swistak will count on early. A couple of hard-hitting freshmen - Steven Abbinante and Piotr Zator - will likely find their way into the Warriors' lineup as they gain experience.
"It's a tough, tough conference to be a part of, but on one hand, it really helps our guys see what it takes to be better players, while helping us prepare for the rest of our schedule and tournaments, and that's what it's all about each and every year here at Maine West," said Swistak.
The Warriors will make weekend stops at league rivals Maine East and Maine South, who both host invites in the month of April, while its annual visit to the Willowbrook Invite later on has provided plenty of success for the club in advance of the final month of the regular season.
East Suburban Catholic
The news at St. Viator this spring is there's a new coach in charge.
Amy Ritchie takes control of the Lions' program, and with it, most of its 2015 varsity players, including Kyle Borst, who as a sophomore played No. 1 at singles and finished fifth at the ESCC tournament.
"After going through the usual growing pains last season, Kyle brings much stronger fundamentals and an incredibly tough mental game, which should make him a contender this year," says Ritchie, who figures on veterans Jason Vivit and Nate Jones to handles things at second and third singles.
Ritchie will lean on senior Nick Skinner and his teammate Jack Neubauer at first doubles. Their combination of speed and consistency will challenge most opponents.
The Lions coach says newcomer Nick Gattuso is locked into one of the spots at No. 2 dubs, with promising sophomores Matt Firestone and Andrew Kicinski along with John Jodoin and Alex Horne all in the mix for the final spots in her starting lineup at doubles.
"We don't have big numbers, but we're deep in talent, and with much of this young team coming of age as juniors and seniors, I feel we will be a much tougher bunch for opponents than in the past," said Ritchie.
Based on the last two decades, and including last season, Benet fans should be confident their club will raise yet another ESCC championship trophy during the early part of May.
The Redwings, led by its longtime coach Michael Hand, captured their 20th outright conference title last year, outscoring runner-up Carmel 57-50, plus Notre Dame, Joliet Catholic, and St. Viator, which finished fifth with 24 overall points. Hand will split up his top doubles team from a year ago, Riley Marshall and Patrick McGuigan, teaming Riley with Declan McNamara, while making McGuigan and the USTA ranked newcomer Jack Caroll, his top two guys at singles.
"We should be in good shape this year, but Carmel and Joilet Catholic will be solid, while Notre Dame could make some noise if they get everyone back and playing," said Hand.
Marshall and McGuigan fell in their ESCC final against the team of Michal Butler and Kevin Hunt, who went on to earn a 9-16 seed at the state tournament, while bagging 33 wins during their final year at Carmel.
State of the state
So back to that aforementioned Highland Park sectional, and how it will effect the eventual final standings.
Quite simply, the CSL is the best tennis conference in the state. So, why are Deerfield, Highland Park and Glenbrook North, three of the very best in the state in this same sectional? On a similar note, why have Mack Galvin and his Rolling Meadows teammates been moved into a group with Lake Forest?
"I complain about the sectionals in our area, but there will be very good players not able to qualify, and I feel sorry for those teams, players and area," said Benet's Hand. "Coaches know (and are realistic) about who should qualify, and we all want what is best for their team, but this is blatantly unfair to the players."
The beneficiary of this year's setup appears to be New Trier, which is thus favored to win a state title in Arlington Heights on the last weekend of the season.
"I can understand why everyone feels we should win it all," said New Trier coach Tad Eckert. "Last year we finished third, and nearly everyone is back from that team. But it takes a lot to win a state title over those three days, and until we show we can compete at a consistent level and win a few tournaments, such as the (Pitchford 32), I'll reserve judgment as to whether or not we'll be the state champs this year."
The Trevians return five of its their state qualifiers, plus welcome perhaps the highest rated USTA freshman in the state to its lineup.
If the trio of Deerfield, Highland Park and Glenbrook North were to be split up in a more even-handed way at other sectionals, then any might be able to challenge the Trevians, making that last weekend of the season a thrilling one.
Deerfield boasts the returning state doubles championship team of Chris Casati and Niko Wasilewicz, plus the added bonus of the over-the-pond import of Vuk Budic, who arrives via Ireland to give the Warriors a superb top three.
Highland Park coach Steve Rudman also says his club is very strong this spring. Back is his No. 1, Jacob Edelchik, who will lead the Giants ahead of David Aizenberg, who along with Max Gordon, finished third overall at doubles a year ago. Add to the mix three quality USTA-ranked players in Nick Zazove and the No. 2 team of Brandon Lew and Jonny Raab, and you have a very dangerous team to contend with.
Coach Jeff Jordan's Glenbrook North team features the one-two singles punch of Mark Wu and Nick Marino. Wu, a junior, is ranked No. 8 in the most recent USTA Midwest region polls.
Not to be forgotten is Stevenson, which has been in the top five throughout Hinsdale Central's four-year trophy reign.
Although the Patriots will miss classy four-time state qualifier and 2014 state doubles champion Colin Harvey, now playing at Michigan State, coach Tom Stanhope returns plenty of talent and experience which is spread out all over its lineup in one form or another.
"We're very deep, and everyone is good, and if we can get our freshmen to play a little doubles here and there, then we'll be in good shape come sectionals, where we should be able to get everyone into the tournament," said Stanhope.
Returning state qualifiers Benjamin Bush and Ryan Harvey lead the way, giving Stanhope and his staff lots of options to complement Brian Weisberg and Sam Komis deep in the season.
Hinsdale Central is always in the mix because of a steady flow of USTA ranked players. But the Red Devils will not be the same after losing two-time state champions Martin Joyce (Ohio State) and Eddie Grabill (Dartmouth).
The departure of these two brilliant players, along with seven other 9-16 seeds at state, breaks the singles field wide open.
If Stefano Tsorotiotis can match his on-court composure to his incredible skill level, the Libertyville junior is the man to beat. The two-time state qualifier is flashy, fast, and can strike at the drop of a hat, but his volatile nature has been his undoing so far.
The likes of Wu, Edelchik, Christian San Andres (Downers Grove South), Victor Spolidorio (Dunlap) and Galvin, all members of that 9-16 club from last season, figure to be among those vying for the top spot at season's end.