Scouting DuPage County boys tennis
Top teams: Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley, Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale South, Naperville North, Wheaton Academy, Benet, Glenbard South.
Top players: Benet: Patrick McGuigan, sr.; Casey Schrader, fr.; Danny McGuigan, fr.; Phil Piscopo, sr.; Downers Grove North: Parker Holyn, sr; Dillon O'Neal, sr.; Downers Grove South: Lawrence Hiquiana, sr.; Glenbard East: Samir Nehta, so.; Sahil Nehta, so.; Glenbard South: Alex Bergendorf, so.; Roy Miao, sr.; Adam Puchalski, sr.; Glenbard West: Alex Kernagis, so.; Griffin Foster, so.; Christo Maltby, so.; Kyle Keane, sr.; Hinsdale Central: Zack Elliott, jr.; Trevor Hamilton, jr.; Andrew Buhelos, jr.; Joe Daw, so.; Hinsdale South: Peter Alex, sr.; Namit Sambare, jr.; Joris Bizys, so.; Jason John, sr.; Josh Eisenschenk, jr.; Lake Park: Aayush Patel, so.; Metea Valley: Avery Holt, sr.; Ian Doyle, jr.; Aleks Schroeder, fr.; Montini: Thomas Batka, jr.; David Batka, fr.; Naperville Central: Bill Zhang, sr.; Ryan Roegner, jr.; Martin Matov, jr.; Ammaar Saeed, so.; Joseph Li, fr.; Mark Polowczak, jr.; Naperville North: Kirk Williams, sr.; Kevin Zhang, jr.; Saahil Rastogi, jr.; Sam Liu, so.; Neuqua Valley: Rohan Sanjay, so.; Alex Neuman, fr.; Eddie Neuman, fr.; Jared Bennick, so.; Nolan George, jr.; St. Francis: Jon Bibo, sr.; Danny Vale, so.; Timothy Christian: Nathan Daniels, sr.; Trevor Hoogendoorn, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Dylan Mikaili, sr.; Wheaton Academy: Ty Krill, jr. ; Owen Setran, so.; Wheaton North: Kevin Li, so.; Bunch Ros, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Jack Lillig, jr.; Sunny Sirinit, fr.; Willowbrook: Mike Pieroni, sr.; Drake DelValle, so.; Ben Cavka, fr.;York: Jacob Wit, so; Lion Hoelzel, so.
Outlook: Naperville Central could be scary good this year. The Redhawks get just about everybody back from last year's team that won conference, sectional and came in sixth at state, including first singles standouts Zhang, a three-year qualifier, who finished 13-16, and Roegner, who was 17-24 at state and is greatly improved this year. The doubles team of Matov and Saeed finished 9-12 in the state tournament. And there is plenty of depth behind the returning qualifiers, including outstanding freshman Li, who can play singles and doubles. "On paper this is the strongest we've ever been going into the season," said Redhawks coach Dan Brown. "Everyone worked hard in the off-season to get better." Brown calls Zhang "one of the hardest workers ever, who leaves everything on the court." Roegner, who is all business on the court, is especially strong in tournaments that require multiple matches in a day. Matov and Saeed make up one of the best doubles teams in the state. "Our first goal is to win the DVC and sectionals," Brown said, "and qualify as many players as we can for state. We hope to compete for a trophy at state."
Neuqua Valley finished second to the Redhawks in the DuPage Valley Conference and finished fifth at state thanks in large part to Brett Meyers' fifth-place finish in singles. Meyers has moved on, but Sanjay, who with his graduated partner had a top 21 finish, returns to lead a team thatis young but very talented. "Hopefully, we'll be able to challenge Naperville Central for the conference championship," said Wildcats coach Trudy Bennorth. "Bennick and the Neuman twins are young but seasoned tournament players, and they'll join Sanjay at the top of a deep athletic lineup." George is a valuable member of the doubles lineup. "We're pretty solid all the way down," Bennorth said. "There'll be a learning curve, but we think we can grow at the end of the year to be in the top 10 to 15 at state.
Naperville North as usual will be in the mix at the top of the conference. Though the Huskies don't have a dominating No. 1 singles player, Zhang, Rastogi and Liu are close in ability and should provide consistent points in conference and tournament play. Zhang could join returning state qualifier Williams as the No. 1 doubles team. "Both are tall, good at the net and have strong service games," said coach Heather Henricksen. "Kirk is at the top of his game. He's a great closer and a leader, who will help his partner grow as a doubles player." The Huskies have good depth, which has been strengthened by the graduates of a conference-champion frosh-soph team.
If you're looking for a dark horse to challenge the top three, keep an eye on an improving Metea Valley that relies on returning state qualifier Holt, one of the fastest players in the area. "If he qualifies for state," coach Joe Rizio said, "we think he can make it to Day Two." If Doyle and the great freshman Schroeder team up they would also be candidates to make it to state and win some matches. Wheaton Warrenville South, which finished in the middle of the pack last year, returns half of its state qualifying doubles team in Lillig, while top-drawer newcomer Sirinit will take his place at the head of the singles lineup. "Lillig is a great competitor with a fine shot selection, while Sirinit is a freshman with extensive (U.S. Tennis Association tournament) experience," said Tigers coach Patti Clousing. "And we have a good mix of varsity veterans and newcomers who will fill the slots behind those two."
Wheaton North, Lake Park, Waubonsie Valley and Glenbard North will be fighting it out to move into the top half of the conference.
Hinsdale Central, which finished second at state last year after four straight team championships, may not be as deep as it has been in the past. The Red Devils are still one of the teams in the mix for the title. Elliott is one of the top singles players in the state. "He's a really cerebral player," said Hinsdale Central coach John Naisbitt. "He's intense, super athletic and has great technical skills. It wouldn't surprise me if he won the singles championship." Daw and Hamilton could compete for a state doubles title. The coach also sees a state championship in Daw's future. "We have healthy competition for all positions, so we still have some decisions to make, but we will once again be competing for the state title."
Glenbard West, one of those solid teams that's caught behind Hinsdale Central and Lyons in the West Suburban Silver standings every year, returns everyone but four-year qualifier Nate Dell. "We're young but we're a better overall team," said coach Tad Keely. "I like our chances to move up a notch in conference if we can solidify the bottom end of our doubles lineup. Keely is hoping that his strong sophomore class will deliver with state qualification by doubles Kernagis and Foster and singles Maltby.
York and Downers Grove North are a couple of middle-of-the-pack teams with some promising talent that could move them up a notch or two in a tough conference.
In the West Suburban Gold, Hinsdale South is a team on the rise, after finishing behind Downers Grove South last year. The doubles team of Alex and Sambare is looking to make a deep run at state. "Alex has great anticipation and always puts a lot of pressure on opponents," said Hornets coach Steve Snider. "And Sambare is dynamic and athletic. He covers a lot of ground. They both have strong serves." Joris is another potential state qualifier. "We have a lot of talent and we're hoping to make this a season to remember," Snider said. "We're eager to take home the conference championship."
Downers Grove South, which is led by Hiquiana, has a young team but hopes to compete with the Hornets for the top spot in conference. Willowbrook, which had two singles and one doubles team fall just short of state, could be ready to challenge this year. DelValle is a standout singles player, while Pieroni and Cavka should excel at either singles or doubles. "We're young but we could compete at the top of the conference," coach Eddie Delacruz said. "Our doubles lineup will be strong."
Glenbard East won the Upstate Eight Conference, and though the Rams lost a lot of seniors, they hope to contend once again led by the Nehta brothers.
Class 1A features a number of strong DuPage County squads led by Benet, which suffered heavy graduation losses from last year's East Suburban Catholic Conference champion. Patrick McGuigan, who went far at state last year at doubles, takes over the No. 1 singles role. "He has great tenacity," said Benet coach Michael Hand. "He loves to grind it out and he has a lot of weapons. He's good at the net and he has great hands and a common sense approach on the court. Nothing surprises him." Freshmen Schrader and Danny McGuigan come in with USTA experience and rankings and they should form a strong doubles team from the get-go. "We're kind of rebuilding but we'll vie for conference again," Hand said. "It will be a baptism of fire for the younger kids."
The Metro Suburban Conference features several outstanding teams that were strong last year and are looking to make an impact this year in the new two-division format. Wheaton Academy, which finished second in the Metro Suburban West, is led by Krill, who is one of the truly fine players in the area. He's a big guy with a big serve, big shots and he covers the court as well as anybody. "We hope to qaualify two singles and two doubles this year," coach Chris Jones said. "We're hoping for a top 10 finish at state."
Glenbard South, which finished first in the division, looks to singles player Bergendorf to lead the Raiders back to conference supremacy. He just missed making state, but he's bigger and stronger this year and his serving and volleying have both improved. "He plays every point as if it means his life," Raiders coach Mark Conrad said. "He could win a few matches at state." Miao and Puchalski make a great doubles combination and they're hoping to qualify for state. "We would love to win conference again and win our quad during the season," Conrad said.
Timothy Christian, which won the eastern division of the Metro Suburban, is led by returning state qualifier Daniels, who played singles last year but will team with Hoogendoorn at doubles this time around. "Daniels is one of the most natural tennis players you'll see," coach Keith Mills said. "Variety is his strength. Hoogendoorn has a big serve and solid volleys. The two complement each other. "Our goal is to win conference and send one or two doubles teams to state."
St. Francis is looking to make more of an impact this year in the Chicago Catholic League led by Bibo, who was injured last year and Vale, who transferred from Kansas, where he made all state. "Both are potential state qualifiers," said first-year coach Mark Ailes. "We're competitive and we have pretty good depth. We hope to compete for the league title."
Key dates: April 4: Hinsdale Central at Naperville Central; April 6: Timothy Christian at Willowbrook; April 8: Benet Team Invite at Downers Grove South: April 11: Naperville Central at Neuqua Valley; April 13: Wheaton Academy at Glenbard South; April 15: Glenbard West Invitational; Naperville North Invite; April 18: Downers Grove South at Hinsdale South: April 27: Naperville North at Naperville Central; April 22: Glenbard South Raider Quad; Downers Grove South Team Tournament; Hinsdale Central Jay Kramer Invite; April 25: Neuqua Valley at Naperville North; April 28-29: Hersey Pitchford Invitational; May 5-6: Naper Valley Invitational; May 12-13: Conference Tournaments; May 19-20: Sectionals; May 25-27: State Tournament.
- Neil Shalin