Scouting Fox Valley boys tennis
Aurora Central CatholicCoach: Mike Cowen
Conference: Metro Suburban
2016 record: 8-10
Top returning players: Seniors Liam Doyle, Eddie Cange, Will Tack, Jacob Decker, Luke Bumstead; Sophomore Jonas Cebulski
Season outlook: The Chargers, who won the East Aurora quad as one of the highlights of last year, return their top six. Doyle is back at No. 1 singles, as is Cange and Cebulski at first doubles, Tack at No. 2 singles, and Decker and Bumstead at second doubles. "Eddie has put in a lot of off-season work and is vastly improved," Cowen said. "Tons of experience and should be a fun year. I have no idea where anyone will play but we have plenty of options. I would assume Glenbard South is the favorite but Wheaton (Academy) has Ty (Krill) and a really good second singles player."
BartlettCoach: Colleen Brandner
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
Top returning players: Seniors Alexander Salatino, Shil Shah; Sophomores Harsh Chheda, Jose Dizon, Jabob Brendel
Season outlook: The Hawks' top doubles team last year, Brandon Pepa and Justin Howes, finished second at the St. Charles East sectional and qualified for state. Both were seniors last year, and Bartlett will have some new faces in its top spots this spring trying to duplicate that success. Salatino is moving up to first singles after playing third doubles last year with Allen Johansen. Shah played second doubles last year. Dizon and Brendel both were on the varsity last year. "They are my secret weapons because they can play singles or doubles equally well," Brandner said. The coach is pleased with the overall numbers out for tennis. "My goal every year is the same - to make every player better today than they were yesterday. We are a team and we win as a team. Every player is important. Unlike many of our competitors, we are a no-cut sport and welcome all players of all levels. When I first started coaching JV tennis, we were lucky if we had enough players for both levels for varsity and JV. The last two years, we have had over 45 players."
BataviaCoach: Brad Nelson
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 16-4, 5-1
Top returning players: Seniors Tommy Maren, Matt Cave, Nathan Schultz; Juniors Peter Novak, Will Freiburger, Will McClure, Cam Marbach
Top newcomers: Senior Matt Kim; Junior Keegan Thompson; Sophomores Chase Bremner, Griffin Unterberg; Freshmen Ben Grizaffi, Brogan Pierce
Season outlook: After finishing third in the Upstate Eight River and second at the West Aurora sectional last year, the Bulldogs have to replace Andrew Nelson, a 2-time state champion whose 104 doubles wins were the most in school history. He also was a 2-time state qualifier, 3-time conference doubles champion and a sectional doubles champion. Emerson Hinzy, Nelson's state doubles partner, also has graduated along with state qualifiers Patrick Hanrahan and Nick Robinson. Senior Robert Carr went 14-1 last year at No. 4 doubles but is out for season with a torn ACL. Batavia's returnees, including Novak (16-1 at No. 4 doubles, conference champion), Freiburger (16-8 at No. 3 singles), Maren (27-8 at No. 3 doubles), McClure (27-6 at No. 3 doubles) won a lot of matches last year. Marbach battled to a 15-16 record at No. 1 singles. Cave was 9-3 last year. Nelson is excited to see what his newcomers add. "Pierce and Bremner bring loads of singles talent," Nelson said. "Our doubles lineup is very even 1-4. We will have plenty of depth. We're looking for our seniors to step up and lead. Maren, McClure and Marbach are looking to build on last year's success. Losing Robert Carr to injury was a setback. We're looking at four new doubles teams in the lineup this season." That doubles depth could help Batavia try to get back to the top of the UEC River. "St. Charles East and St. Charles North will be strong. As always, it will come down to three singles and three and four doubles to see which team will take home the conference title."
Cary-Grove
Coach: Amanda Schuetzle
Conference: Fox Valley
2016 record: 19-2
Top returning players: Seniors Quinn Gliniecki, Kevin McDonald, Luke Weber, Sam Sitarski; Junior Michael Ptaszek
Top newcomers: Juniors Matt Poole, Patrick Miller, Teddy Price, Colin Enstrom; Sophomore Thomas Conneen
Season outlook: Schuetzle, in her seventh season, is coming off a strong season that saw the Trojans win conference championships at No. 3 singles, No. 3 doubles and No. 4 doubles. As a team the Trojans finished third in both the FVC conference standings and FVC tournament behind Jacobs and Prairie Ridge. Gliniecki is returning after being part of a 21-11 first doubles team last year. McDonald and Weber went 20-2 last year and won a conference championship at fourth doubles. Ptaszek went 17-10 last season at first singles. Sitarski played third singles and went 22-3 with a conference championship. "We have our work cut out for us after losing six starters to graduation but have seen more off-season work from our guys than ever before so we are optimistic," Schuetzle said. "Jacobs and PR are always top programs, but Huntley is continually growing and Crystal Lake South and Central can never be ignored - they have some excellent players at the top of their rosters. We are looking to continue where we left off last year." Schuetzle said Ptaszek should be one of the top players in the area along with Crystal Lake South's Nick Thome, who she said could be the strongest player in the conference, plus Crystal Lake Central's Ethan St. John and Johnny Wallace, Jacobs' Kerwin Chong and Marian Central's Ian Brzeski.
Crystal Lake South Coach: Don Nead
Conference: Fox Valley
2016 record: 9-4, 8-4
Top returning players: Seniors Nick Thome, Zach Rulf, Jeff Segrue; Junior Will Sudbrook; Sophomore Alex Freeman
Season outlook: Thome is a returning state qualifier for Nead, now in his 39th year. "We return all three singles players from last year, but only two players with any doubles experience at the varsity level," Nead said. "The success of this season will depend on how rapidly the doubles teams can become competitive at the varsity level."
Dundee-CrownCoaches: Cally Genson, Andrew Tollberg
Conference: Fox Valley
2016 record: 6-8
Top returning players: Senior Daniel Turchan; Juniors Jack Miller, Matt Krispin, Eric Shields; Sophomore Sneh Shah
Season outlook: The Chargers graduated Albert Dziadkowiec who placed fourth in first singles at last year's conference tournament. "As a team we grew immensely in our skills and confidence," Genson said. "Our goal is to come away with a winning season and increase our skills from where we started this year with such a young team."
East AuroraCoach: Susan Skelley
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
2016 record: 7-15
Top returning players: Seniors Jesus Suarez, Jose Milan; Juniors Andres Martinez, Micah Hook, Luis Galvez, Jorge Vega, Diego Terrazas
Top newcomers: Seniors Angel Ramos, Kevin Martinez; Sophomores Ramon Cervantes, Esteban Esquivel; Freshman Noah Hook
Season outlook: The Tomcats graduated four seniors off last year's team but still have several players back to build around. Suarez will play No. 1 singles after winning 10 matches last year at first singles, second singles and first doubles. Martinez won 11 matches last year at various positions. "Our team will always come ready to play," Skelley said. "We are a little more experienced than last year's young team."
ElginCoach: Phet Rattana
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 6-13
Top returning players: Senior Jacob Narayan; Juniors Roshan Patel, Matthew Pettineo
Season outlook: The Maroons, who won last year's Elgin Invitational, will build around Narayan at first singles and Patel and Pettineo at first doubles. "I expect big things from these three this year," Rattana said. "They've been on varsity every year they been in school." Narayan played doubles last year but will focus on singles this spring. Patel and Pettineo have played doubles together before; this year they are moving up to the No. 1 spot for the first time. "I expect us to keep improving as a team," Rattana said. "We have great numbers again this year (34). We have a lot of new players which I'm happy about because our varsity team is very senior laden."
Elgin AcademyCoach: Greg Repede
Conference: Independent School League
2016 record: 12-8-1
Top returning players: Seniors Harmon Honda, Michael Knight; Juniors Simon Balisi, Preston Desch, Karan Gowda, Prudhvie Gudapati, Connor Jaworski
Season outlook: Elgin Academy is encouraged with 17 players out for the team, even if there is some inexperience. "We have good numbers out this year," Repede said. "The boys have a lot of enthusiasm but limited experience. They'll work hard and improve as the season progresses. Record wise, this will be a rebuilding year." Repede isn't sure if Gudapati and Gowda will play the two singles spots or No. 1 doubles.
Hampshire Coach: Art Steuber
Conference: Fox Valley
Top returning players: Seniors Aldren Briones, Kohlman Steuber, Elwood Stuart; Juniors Alex Patthana, Alex Sayavongs
Top newcomers: Sophomores Daniel Hawkey, Blake Snider
Season outlook: Steuber begins his first season with the Whip-Purs, who graduated Jack Gara. He's looking to build a program that can be successful for years to come. "The focus on our team this season will be to develop a competitive team consisting of year-round tennis players," Steuber said. "We have several younger players who will be in the starting varsity lineup, as well as a few more that will play at the JV level. Developing these younger players will be critical to our success, both this year and in the future."
HuntleyCoach: Barry Wells
Conference: Fox Valley
2016 record: 14-5, five state qualifiers
Top returning players: Seniors Charlie Burian, Jacob Wat, Trey Coleman, Keaton Newsome; Juniors Jack Soderwall, Ben Modrich; Sophomores Julian Collins, Justin Schee, Ben Saiz; Freshmen
Drake Southwell, Jack Adams
Season outlook: In his 12th season as coach, Wells has a team he expects to be in the mix with Jacobs, Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove. The Red Raiders qualified two doubles teams and a singles player to state last year and hope to have another strong lineup this spring. "I think that we will have a deep team with a good mixture of younger players and upperclassmen," Wells said. "We should have a balanced lineup with strong singles and doubles."
Jacobs
Coach: Jon Betts
Conference: Fox Valley
2016 record: 21-2 overall, 12-0 FVC, Triad 16-Team Invitational Champions, Fox Valley Conference Champions, sectional champions, 10th place state
Top returning players: Seniors Matt Kastritis, Jacob Moser, Ryan Elliott, Jakub Sobkowicz, Winston Yau, Brandon Jones; Junior Kerwin Chong; Sophomore Kyle Burton
Season outlook: The Golden Eagles have some big shoes to fill, three of the best players in school history according to Betts. Chong went 40-5 last year at first doubles, winning conference and sectional championships. Kastritis qualified for state last year at second doubles, won a conference championship and had a 29-12 record. Moser and Elliott played third doubles with 21-10 and 13-5 records, respectively. Sobkowicz and Yau played fourth doubles going 18-4 and 17-4, respectively. Burton also qualified for state last year at second doubles with a 31-12 record. "The 2016 season will be a tough one to follow," Betts said. "If we hope to keep pace with what should be a very talented Prairie Ridge team, we'll need outstanding leadership from our great group of experienced seniors throughout the lineup. After great runs in 2016, both Kerwin Chong and Kyle Burton have worked hard to take their games to the next level and will certainly be players to watch."
LarkinCoach: Kevin Schillerstrom
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 1-15
Top returning player: Junior Mavrick Lam
Top newcomer: Senior Jay Valdez
Season outlook: Lam will play No. 1 singles for the Royals, led by the fifth-year coach Schillerstrom. The Royals have to replace Tyrone Bungay but are excited about the addition of Valdez, a transfer who played third doubles last year at Dixon. More than wins and losses, Schillerstrom is trying to get more players interested in the sport. "Our team's goals are to beat our crosstown rivals Elgin and get at least 22 boys out for our program," Schillerstrom said. "We currently have 16 in our program and we're looking to expand on that by showing student-athletes how fun the game of tennis can be. We believe that if the students can get some exposure to the sport in freshman PE that will help our numbers issue."
St. Charles EastCoach: Rob Livermore
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 7-5
Top returning players: Seniors Chuck Downing, Peter Clancy, Kevin Cook, Ethan Fowler; Sophomore Kevin Schreiner
Season outlook: Coming off a second-place finish in conference and a sectional championship, the Saints have the experience to do it again. Downing and Schreiner played first doubles last year and went 19-6, won a conference championship, took third at sectionals and went 2-2 at state. Clancy also qualified for state last year and went 17-8. "We want to compete for conference and sectional titles," Livermore said, adding the top competition will come from St. Charles North and Batavia.
St. Charles NorthCoach: Sean Masoncup
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 18-2
Top returning players: Seniors Joe Mashca, Holden Gilkey, Matt McAuther, Dillon Randazzo; Junior Ajay Gustafson
Top newcomers: Freshmen Alex Geivelis, Connor Bajuk
Season outlook: Masoncup is closing in on 200 wins, now at 193-18 overall and 133-12 at St. Charles North. He will get to that milestone with a young team that graduated eight of their top 11 players including four state qualifiers. "Most would think we are in a rebuilding year but the off-season has been very good to this group," Masoncup said. "They have played a lot of tennis and have taken huge steps. We added a couple tournament players that are freshmen and we should be very competitive. Batavia is the front-runner and we are just trying to get better each day so we can keep up with them."
St. EdwardCoach: Allan Anastacio
Conference: Metro Suburban
2016 record: 1-12
Top returning players: Seniors Kyle Brown, Josh Yuen
Season outlook: After finishing fifth in conference last year, the Green Wave are aiming to take a step forward. "We are hoping to win more matches by learning the game more as a team," Anastacio said. "Kyle and Josh have their eyes on state this year. Our biggest competition is Aurora Central Catholic and Timothy Christian, who have strong teams with multiple state players." Brown and Yuen finished 6-4 at doubles last year.
South ElginCoach: Bret Anderson
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
2016 record: 8-3
Top returning players: Seniors Raj Patel, Taylor Phengsomphone, Ben Holmes, Tommy Huber, Chad Mogan, Sam Benbrook; Junior Matt Lopez
Top newcomers: Seniors Jack Wolter, Nathan Stover; Juniors Jeremy AmRhein, Tyler Williams; Sophomore Alan Tran
Season outlook: Raj Patel returns as a state qualifier for the Storm, who finished second in the Upstate Eight Valley and third at the St. Charles East sectional. Patel will play No. 1 singles. "We expect to be competitive in every match," Anderson said. "We have a deep, talented roster, led by Raj Patel."
StreamwoodCoach: Pat Hanley
Conference: Upstate Eight River
2016 record: 5-8
Top returning players: Seniors Chris Veltkamp, Albert Bengno
Top newcomers: Freshman Alex Veltkamp
Season outlook: The Sabres feature one of the best singles players around in Chris Veltkamp, who won conference in singles last year, won the St. Charles East sectional singles title, and then went 3-2 at state. "It should be another good year for our singles players," Hanley said. "Obstacles that we will need to overcome are the fact that we graduated 14 seniors from our program. We're rebuilding our doubles teams."
West AuroraCoach: Bill Stanley
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
2016 record: 6-7
Top returning players: Seniors William Isiminger, Elliot Barbel; Junior Caden LaFond
Top newcomers: Senior Jacob Riggs; Junior Luke Reimers
Season outlook: The Blackhawks return a conference champion and state qualifier in Isiminger. LaFond was undefeated in the regular season and second in Conference at No. 2 singles. The Blackhawks finished third in conference last year in Stanley's 15th season as coach. "West High boys tennis has many players this year, so the future is bright," Stanley said. "The Blackhawk Invite and Troy Tournament will be two tournaments that will challenge us. There are many juniors and JV players last year who will fill in nicely to complete the roster. One of the strengths this season is the number of tennis athletes that are playing this year. Currently at 37 deep, the future is bright for Blackhawk tennis." Stanley said the team's toughest competition will come from Batavia, IMSA, Geneva and Glenbard East. "I expect us to compete at every level and get better throughout the season," Stanley said. "In the end, we hope to win conference and send some players to the state tournament."