Boys tennis: Elk Grove's Christoforou carries winning tradition forward
Mack Galvin left quite an impression on the boys tennis scene in the Mid-Suburban League.
He went unbeaten against conference competition last season on his way to a fourth consecutive MSL title before earning a top-four singles finish in the state tournament.
That trophy was the first for the MSL in singles since Tom Hanus of Palatine won a state title way back in 2001.
The Rolling Meadows star was known for his incredible work ethic, sportsmanship, respect for the game and his opponents, and was a real credit to the conference.
"Mack was a classy young man, and a great ambassador for the MSL," said Barrington coach John Roncone.
Galvin, who led the Air Force Academy in wins at singles this season, also made quite an impression on Markos Christoforou. The 2015 state qualifier never stopped listening and learning from a player who amassed over 140 career victories.
"Mack impressed from that very first time we played, back when I was a freshman," said Christoforou, now an Elk Grove senior and team captain, of what he will remember as a defining moment in his development.
"My family and I moved from Cyprus the year before I entered high school," said Christoforou, "and while there I played a lot of tennis, and I thought I was a pretty good player.
"Mack annihilated me, plain and simple. But the thing he did then and continued to do with every match we played was take the time to suggest things which would improve my game - always in a positive manner, and with encouragement.
"It made a big impression on me just as a person, because he could have easily just shaken my hand and walked off the court."
And since that formative first meeting with Galvin, Christoforou has done his best to emulate Galvin's conduct - whether competing for Grens tennis coach Bob Lepkowski or while playing for Elk Grove's boys soccer team.
The outcome is an athlete who is quite skilled in his own right.
"Markos has proven to be not only a talented player for us, but also a strong role model for all of his teammates," said Lepkowski. "I know him best on the courts, but I understand his positive spirit fills the halls at school, and it did when he played soccer also. Ultimately, I feel very fortunate to have worked with and coached a fine young man."
Christoforou has demonstrated a goal-oriented approach in both his sports, but never by placing himself ahead of his team or teammates.
Christoforou was a standout defender for soccer coach Rob Shepard in the fall, which was his third varsity season and second as a starter.
"Record-wise, we had a down season," said Christoforou, "but I enjoyed playing and being around my teammates, and it was because of them and our coaching staff that I was able to be named all-conference, and later honorable mention all-sectional."
Christoforou also committed himself 100 percent during the off-season to become a better player for Shepard and his teammates, who named him one of their captains.
"I took a lot of pride in being a captain," Christoforou said, "and I wanted to live up to the expectations of the position."
That off-season was a busy one as he split time with both sports - lifting, running, training at both soccer and tennis, plus getting some time in the pool.
"Mack said swimming really helped with his fitness and conditioning, and advised me to add it to my training regimen, so I did," Christoforou said.
He also joined the Forest View Racquet Club, where he would regularly play with many of his MSL rivals.
"The best part of that was to get to know all of the guys who came to play from the conference," Christoforou said. "We became friends and we all improved during all those weeks, and that's what it's all about."
Christoforou's run to a spot in the 2015 state field was a memorable one.
"It was a great moment for me, and the Elk Grove program," said Christoforou, who became the program's first state qualifier since 2005. "It was maybe my biggest highlight of my career, and it happened because of the support from my teammates and coaches."
Christoforou says tennis and soccer helped bridge the gap when he came over from Cypress, as did having grandparents in Wisconsin, and a mother born her in the states.
He's carried his success in the field of sports into the classroom, where he excels in his studies as well as in DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), where he recently qualified for nationals for a second straight time after winning state titles in Professional Selling and Hospitality Sales.
"I've taken several business classes here at Elk Grove, and found it to be my passion," said Christoforous, "but much of the credit goes to our faculty advisor, Mr. Chad Froeschle - he's inspired all of us in this area of study."
During his spring break, Christoforou has turned his attention to college. He's scheduled visits to Marquette and Minnesota along with Illinois.
"This college thing is a little stressful," he said, "but thankfully I have tennis, then graduation to look forward to. Everything about high school has been amazing for me. If I get back to the state tournament one more time, that would be great also.
I know I've worked hard to get better, and will do the best that I can for myself and our team, and have fun doing it. That's all you can do."
Mid-Suburban League
With Galvin moving on, the race for the top singles spot is wide open this spring. There's plenty of quality and quantity on several of the clubs in the league, but it appears it begins at Barrington, where the Broncos have two outstanding players.
Sophomore Dylan Er, who won three matches at state in his freshman season, will be joined on his team by Bradley Yu in a lead role.
"Dylan made great strides last year, especially down the stretch, and Bradley comes to us with a lot of USTA experience, and it shows in all facets of his game," says coach John Roncone.
"Without Mack, Matsuno (from Fremd) and my guy, David Chon, the look at No. 1 will very different," said Palatine coach Jim Lange. "But there's a lot of very good guys to keep an eye on. Markos is solid, so are the two at Conant (Vera Iyer, Nico Rosas), Mike Sanford at Prospect, Daniel Lee the state qualifier at Hoffman, plus others. The competition will be good."
The race for the team trophy might be a little more one-sided.
The addition of Yu, the arrival of another high-level club player and four returning MSL champs gives Barrington early season favorite status.
"We can be a very good team this year," said Roncone. "We will now have more depth than before, and a few more options on how we put together our team, particularly at doubles. But there will be challenges ahead with our schedule, and ultimately, how sectionals eventually shake down. But it should be a fun year for us."
Cam Holzman, Kyle Shuff, Mohammed Walji and Grant Bernero have all collected first-place conference honors at Barrington.
Last year's team runner-up, Fremd, has a new No. 1, Andrew Yin. The Vikes will have to work off to fight off two-time sectional champ Conant, where coach Dave Koleno has a put together a club with skill and style, headed by Iyer and Rosas. Both advanced into the state tournament last spring at doubles with different partners.
"Many parts of our eventual lineup are still to be determined, but I like the pieces that we have, and we should be much stronger up and down than we were a year ago," says Koleno, who will lean on his returning stars, plus Arjun Rao and Michael Kim, plus an impressive freshmen, Andrew Milas.
Prospect will look to reclaim the top honors in the MSL East after Hersey took the top spot the last two years.
"We lost four from our team last season, but I feel we have a very good chance to get past both Hersey and Buffalo Grove, who I see as our biggest competition in the division," said Prospect coach Brad Rathe.
Rathe says Sanford learned plenty as the Knights' No. 1 a year ago, but with a strong rookie on the scene, Mikey Gavrinchea, Rathe could deploy Sanford as one-half of his top doubles team alongside either Peter Velic or Noah Helstrom.
"We'll tweak and twist our lineup for a while because we have a lot of guys pushing hard for spots in our lineup, and that's a good thing," says Rathe.
Central Suburban League North
With perennial state powers Deerfield, Glenbrook North and Highland Park in your division, the chances for a top-three finish are slim.
It's just a fact of life Derrick Swistak and his men from Maine West deal with each and every year, and that's OK with the Warriors' head coach.
"We'll be competitive in the matches we expect to be in, and we'll just see what we can do against the others," says Swistak. "We lost a lot from last year, so right now I'm not sure what we have, exactly. But what I know is we do have a great bunch of guys in our program."
Swistak says he has quality at singles, some of which he will look to convert into doubles players.
"It's all about footwork, positioning, and a few other things we can teach, but we'll have to see how the guys react," said Swistak.
The Warriors' season opens with four duals next week, beginning with Elmwood Park on Monday, and will end when it travels crosstown to the Maine East Invite.
East Suburban Catholic Conference
It has long been Benet and Carmel atop the ESCC, but this season Amy Ritchie feels her team from St. Viator is ready to take a giant leap forward and join the perennial league leaders.
"The guys put in a lot of off-season work, and our lineup really matured after they had to go through a lot of growing pains the last few seasons," said Ritchie, now in her second year. "The experience of playing in a really tough sectional for the last couple of years has helped, as has being a part of a very good tennis conference. So the opportunity will be there for a group of guys who have the competitive spirit and skills to have a successful season."
The Lions will depend upon a veteran starting lineup, beginning at the top with two seniors at singles, Kyle Borst and Jack Neubauer. At No. 1 doubles, it's Jason Vivit and Nick Gattuso.
Also returning for the Lions will be juniors Matt Firestone and Andrew Kincinski at No. 2 doubles, giving the club four teams back from a fourth-place finish at the ESCC tournament.
State of the state
The state of the state this spring is, well, up for grabs.
This will be the first year of the two-class system, and that decision has been met with plenty of disdain from coaches from around the area who believed the 64-man field of one-class tennis was just fine.
When the sectional assingments are releasted, those same unhappy coaches expect to see some incredibly deep and talented sectionals preventing many top players from even making the state field.
"Everyone expects sectionals to be just loaded," said long-time Warren coach Greg Cohen.
With the season ready to begin in earnest, it appears the early favorites in the team race will be, in no particular order, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Highland Park and Naperville Central.
All return terrific players in singles and doubles, beginning with Glenbrook North. The Spartanshave two of the best at singles in Mark Wu (third last year) and Nick Marino, who along with the returning Austin Klapman were 5-8 seeds at doubles a year ago.
"With three state returning players, and a quality freshman (Ben Riad) with us also, this is the year for us to push for a top-three finish," says Glenbrook North coach Jeff Jordan.
champion Naperville Central has both of its state qualifiers from singles back once again (Ryan Roegner and Bill Zhang), as well as its state doubles team of Martin Matov and Ammaar Saeed. Another state doubles team, Sebastien DesRoberts and Rohan Gupta, lead a veteran group from Glenbrook South.
Highland Park coach Steve Rudman has the pieces in place to be the team to beat in the CSL this spring, beginning with a potential state singles champ in Jacob Edelchik. He joins a No. 1 doubles team of Brandon Lew (third in state last year) and Jeremy Learner. The return of Jonny Raab, who missed time with a torn stomach muscle, gives the Giants a big four to envy.
"We're young after our top four," said Rudman, "but that upper group will be after a team title. We'll have to see how sectionals shake down before that."
Stevenson finished eighth last spring with just three entries, and despite losing a couple of key players from its NSC championship team, Patriots coach Tom Stanhope feels his club will do just fine if he can find a second doubles team.
"I truly believe we'll be better than a year ago," he said. "But everyone is holding their breath with sectionals, because a lot of good teams will be condensed into the same sectional, making it very difficult to get good players to state."
The Patriots return one of the best No. 1 teams in the area with Matt Harvey/Brian Weisberg, as well as state qualifiers Zachary Kim, and Sam Komis, who joined four-time state qualifier Benjamin Bush at the final meet of the season.
In Class 1A, you'd think timing is everything for Metamora, which has held its own against larger schools for many years. Yet now, as two-class tennis begins, the cupboard is bare for respected veteran coach Kelly Willard.
"We lost six of our top nine players, so there will be some huge gaps to fill in our lineup this spring," said Willard, now in his 20th year in charge.
Willard figures Dunlap, Chicago University and Normal U-High are the favorites to win the first 1A trophy in late May, with Dunlap senior Victor Spolidorio, a 5-8 seed a year ago, the one to beat at singles.