Boys tennis: Scouting conference tournaments
The boys tennis postseason begins this week, as conferences will start the process of crowning their 2016 league champions. Here's what to expect from action in the Mid-Suburban League, the East Suburban Catholic and the Central Suburban North.
Mid-Suburban
Tourney host: Prospect.
Outlook: There's still plenty of excitement in the voice of four-year star Mack Galvin when he's asked about the upcoming MSL tourney.
"I cannot wait for this weekend this arrive, especially this year because it's the fourth and final conference tournament of my career," said the Rolling Meadows star with a grin. "This time around there's three very good freshmen who will be the future of the league to keep an eye on. So the competition will be there, and I'll be ready for what each of them brings my way."
"Mack has been the face of the conference, and has really been a fine spokesperson for the MSL in the postseason," said Barrington coach John Roncone. "While he will be missed when he moves on to college next fall, he is the type of player you really don't want to see go away because he handles himself with so much class and sportsmanship, on and off the courts."
While Galvin is on course to win an unprecendented fourth straight title at singles, Roncone's team has its eyes on a third straight team title. While it's true that the 2016 version of the Broncos cannot match last year's veteran lineup, this year's model still has plenty of ability.
"We're excited for the opportunity to compete for a third straight title, but we'll need a strong performance from the top of our lineup, because this is a conference which has much more balance then a year ago - especially at singles, where the No. 1 spot is strong from top to bottom," Roncone said.
Singles features a trio of impressive freshmen - Kazuki Matsuno (14-8) of Fremd, Vera Iyer (Conant, 11-6) and Dylan Er (Barrington). They join a must-see group at No. 1 which includes 2015 state qualifiers Daniel Lee (Hoffman Estates) and Markos Christoforou (Elk Grove), as well as classy three-year Palatine star David Chon.
"Barrington is the team to beat, but I know my guys at No. 1 singles, plus my two top teams at doubles, have a very good chance of reaching the finals," said Fremd coach Matt Duncan, whose team edged Conant for second place in the MSL West. "And when that happens, you hope you can influence the team race."
Meanwhile, coach Andy Walton has brought tennis back to life at Hersey, and others are noticing.
"Hersey competes very hard at every flight, and a lot of that comes from Andy, who has really found a way to inspire his kids," Roncone said. "They make you earn each point while playing with a lot of heart and great effort, which can make the difference in the end."
The Huskies won their first-ever divisional crown last year and followed up by repeating the feat.
"One of our goals from the beginning was to win the MSL East, so to repeat was quite an accomplishment, and a real thrill," said Walton.
Hersey has received quality play from junior Aidan Burke (12-9) at No. 1. He's stepped into the role as the Huskies' top player quite nicely after working overtime during the off-season to improve his game.
Freshman Kevin Mi (14-4, 5-0) will be part of a strong contingent at No. 2 singles which includes reigning MSL champ Mohammed Walji (Barrington), 2015 state qualifier Niko Rosas (Conant, 8-0) and Fremd freshman Sean Hishinuma.
"Kevin has been a terrific addition to our team and program, and his win over (Walji) shows he belongs, as does the fact that his only losses of the year have come at the hands of state qualifiers from a year ago," said Walton.
Junior Patryk Kot began the season as the Huskies' No. 1 but was moved alongside Dan Belcastro to give Hersey a potent one-two punch at doubles.
"Adam Johnson and Alex Roth (13-4, 5-0) are two incredible hard-working seniors, who are fierce competitiors and very smart doubles players," Walton said. "They have been terrific at No. 2 for us and are a lot of fun to watch. I know they are anxious to get another chance at Barrington, who beat them in an intense three-set contest."
When play begins Thursday, both Hersey and Rolling Meadows will host in addition to Prospect, with all finals schedule to be on the Knights' home courts on Saturday, beginning with the semifinals at 8:30 a.m.
East Suburban Catholic
Where: Joliet Catholic
Outlook: Some things remain the same in the world of ESCC tennis - such as, once again Benet Academy is the favorite to win a conference title, while Carmel figures to be the Redhawks' nearest challenger.
This spring, however, as these two rivals battle for league supremacy, St. Viator is looking to make its mark as well under first-year coach Amy Ritchie.
"It will be Benet and Carmel when it's over, but we feel like we can make a statement this year, and with so many young players on our roster, we can be right there with those teams next season if we continue to work and improve during the off-season," said Ritchie.
Expectations are running a little higher thanks in part to the Lions' 3-1-0 record in the ESCC this spring, which included back-to-back wins over St. Patrick and Marian Central to end the regular season and help the club tie for third overall.
"Even in our loss to Carmel, the guys fought hard. Their were a lot of deuce games and tiebreaker games we were involved in, and the effort was very strong," Ritchie said. "So I feel that match gave everyone the boost in confidence that you need going forward."
Ritchie has Kyle Borst and Jason Vivit as her Nos. 1 and 2. The Lions' boss likes what she's seen from her three doubles teams throughout the spring, citing terrific chemistry as one reason for better times ahead.
"Nick (Skinner) and Jack (Neubauer) should have a better record at No. 1," she said. "They are certainly skilled enough, but they've had a rough go of it in their close matches. But they can be a very competitive team if they can get past that."
Ritchie expects her Nos. 2 and 3 teams to thrive following a nice stretch in recent weeks.
"Nick Gattuso/Matt Firestone (No. 2) lost early on to a first-class team from Lake Forest Academy (4-6, 4-6), but both of them found out they are right there with a team that has so much off-season experience," Ritchie said. "As far as my No. 3 (senior Nate Jones/sophomore Andrew Kicinski) they have found a nice balance despite being a senior/sophomore team, and those two are so persistent and scrappy. They just never give up on any shot or point."
CSL North
Tourney host: Glenbrook North
Outlook: The race is between perennial state powers Deerfield, Glenbrook North and Highland Park, but for Derrick Swistak and his team from Maine West, it's been a bright and sunny spring despite the generally, cold, rainy weather.
"It's been a strange season with so much nice weather in March, almost unheard of in my 10 years, before it turned so rotten in the month of April," Swistak said. "But beginning the season strong with wins over Elk Grove, Elmwood Park, Fenton and Hoffman Estates really got us off on the right foot this year."
The Warriors have had an interesting mix of youth and experience, and according to Swistak much of the success in blending this group into a solid bunch is due in large part to JV coach John Hauenstein, who was the varsity coach prior to the arrival of Swistak.
"John has taken kids with little or no tennis experience and made them valuable contributors each and every day," Swistak said. "The guy works so hard and has so much fun getting the kids ready and prepared, and, to me, he's the reason for the recent success of our program."
One of the success stories is Henry Nguyen, a former state qualifier at doubles (2014) and now partnering with sophomore Jason Elangical.
Swistak has also paired senior Jackson Torkelson alongside sophomore Brett Patterson to give the club a solid 1-2 doubles punch.
"Jackson has been tutoring Brett on the finer points of doubles after Brett played a lot of singles last year as a freshman," said Swistak.
Torkelson will be off Alabama next fall to study engineering.
"We've put all our eggs into doubles this spring, and each team has earned some nice wins here and there," Swistak said. "If they can continue playing the way they have, anything can happen from here on out."