Boys tennis: Stevenson finishes seventh in state tourney
Sensational four-year careers by Matt Harvey and Brian Weinberg came to an end Saturday morning when the Stevenson doubles standouts were eliminated from the Class 2A boys tennis state tournament.
The Patriots' classy No. 1 tandem fell in straight sets to Highland Park (Brandon Lew/Jeremy Learner) for the second consecutive week, thus ending their run at a state medal in their final year.
Teammate Sam Komis went out much closer to a state medal, falling in his consolation semifinal in straight sets to Zach Elliott of Hinsdale Central to end a marvelous junior season at 30-6.
"It was a great year for myself and the team - it's too bad I couldn't get past Elliott this morning," said Komis. "I tried just about everything, but it wasn't enough."
Komis will return along with teammate and state qualifier Zach Kim to give the Patriots a dynamic 1-2 punch at singles next spring.
"I plan on getting back to training right away, while during the summer competing in several tournaments and hopefully some Midwest invites as well to help me improve my overall game," Komis said.
Stevenson finished seventh with 20 points, eight behind state champion Naperville Central. The Redhawks closed out New Trier with late head-to-head victories by Ryan Roegner and double teammates Bill Zhang/Martin Matov.
The state title is the first in Naperville Central program history and its eighth top-10 finish.
Jacob Edelchik of Highland Park was the 2A state champ at singles, while Edwardsville's Alex Trimpe/Zach Trimpe won at doubles, giving the Tigers their first state champion in boys tennis.
In Class 1A, Wauconda junior Brian Hackman completed a marvelous three-day run by going 5-2 overall. He fell out of medal contention by losing to the eventual fifth-place winner, Nicolas Welker of Burlington Central.
Hackman opened his final day with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Raymond Richardson (De La Salle) before being stopped by the BC star in straight sets.
"We couldn't be more proud of Brian," said Wauconda coach Ryan Whitfield. "He overplayed his 9-16 seed with his top-eight finish (Wauconda's first ever), and his growth as a player and person from last year to this season was remarkable.
"The best thing about it all is we have him back next season to help our program continue to grow."
This spring was the first time in Bulldogs history that the club advanced two teams into the state tournament, the other being its doubles team of Andrew Lu and Connor Splingaire.
Dunlap won the first-ever Class 1A state trophy, with the Latin School of Chicago second and Benet Academy third.