Boys tennis: State tournament scouting, Lake County and Northwest
Boys tennis: State tournament scouting
When: Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Where: Hersey High School in Arlington Heights is the host; contests over first two days of tournament will be held at all Mid-Suburban League schools. Saturday's championship rounds are scheduled for 9 a.m. at Hersey.
Local flavorCLASS 2A SINGLES
Casey Hishinuma (Fremd, 17-9): The Cornerstone of a Vikings program which is on the way up, this freshman showed he belonged in the tournament after strong outings at the MSL tourney, followed by another terrific two days at sectionals with back-to-back straight-set victories to clinch his place in the state field. First round opponent: Jacob Arnea of Romeoville.
Zach Kim (Stevenson, 21-1): Few can boast a more powerful and talented 1-2 punch at singles than state power Stevenson, beginning with this Patriots junior who will be making his third consecutive appearance at state after earning a second straight 9-16 seed. The three-time NSC champion, who has reeled off three straight 20-win seasons, will face Ben Lee (Benet Academy) in his opener today, and top seed Jack Randall (Lockport) should Kim win his next two.
Sam Komis (Stevenson, 21-1): The meteoric rise of this three-time state qualifier began as a 9-16 doubles seed two years ago with Benjamin Bush. And now Komis is on the cusp of a top-four singles seed, selected as a 5-8 after his sectional title last weekend. He also earned championship trophies at the Bison Invite and NSC tournament, as well as fifth place at the Pitchford. The four-year starter will face Ammar Wazir of Barrington, and is three tourney wins away from likely facing No. 2 Zach Elliot from Hinsdale Central in the quarterfinals.
Max Sheldon (Hersey, 22-6): From his very first week, to an impressive showing at both the Pitchford 32, and later his championship run at the conference tournament, this Hersey freshmen has been tops among an impressive group of freshmen dotting MSL rosters this spring. He's the first Hersey singles player to advance since Eric Klawitter did so in 2010 and will open with two-time ESCC champion Nick Hebda from Notre Dame.
Ammar Wazir (Barrington, 21-3): It's been a terrific rookie season for the Broncos' No. 2, who was the MSL champion at that position and later was second at sectionals to his teammate Bradley Yu after delivering a stunning straight-set victory in the semifinals against top seed and four-time state qualifier, Kerwin Chong of Jacobs. First round opponent: 5-8 seed Sam Komis (Stevenson).
Bradley Yu (Barrington, 18-3): The Broncos sophomore now has a sectional crown to wear after last weekend at Cary-Grove to go along with two straight state appearances. The Broncos' top man at singles went 2-2 last year at state on his way to winning 22 matches in his first season. Yu will play the two-time state qualifier from Glenbard West, Nick Kernagis.
CLASS 2A DOUBLES
Barrington (Dylan Er/Kyle Shuff, 18-2): With its lone two losses to 3-4 seed Hinsdale Central and 9-16 Glenbrook North, this MSL and sectional championship team earned a 9-16 seed. Er, a state qualifier two years ago as a freshman, was moved over from his spot as the Broncos' No. 2 to join Shuff, himself a three-time MSL doubles champ, each time with different partners. Er, who won the MSL No. 2 title last season, deploys a powerful forehand, while Schuff has the quick hands needed in the doubles game. They open against Normal (Parker Honegger/Shanku Nair).
Barrington (Suven Sinha/Aryan Sharma, 2-2): Strength of depth in the Broncos' lineup allowed for a seamless move after Matt D'Amore suffered a season-ending injury at the conference tourney. Coach John Roncone moved Suven Sinha from No. 3 singles alongside Sharma for sectionals and they thrived, nearly earning a spot opposite teammates Er/Shuff in the final if not for a heartbreaker three-set loss in the semifinals. First round opponent: Conant (Kaahan Motwani-Andrew Milas).
Conant (Nico Rosas/Vera Iyer, 6-3): There's plenty of postseason experience for this Cougars No. 1 team which was put together just for the Pitchford 32 to give the two best players on its roster a handful of matches together in advance of sectionals. Rosas is here for the fourth time - once before at singles in his freshman season and twice with Kaahan Motwani, who together won a sectional crown one year ago. Iyer is a three-time state qualifier, both previous times at singles. First-round opponent: Lyons Township (Owen O'Connor-Luke Schlender).
Conant (Kaahan Motwani/Andrew Milas, 6-3): A tactical shift in the Cougars sectional lineup precipitated one more move by coach Dave Koleno, who took his standout No. 2 singles (Milas) and placed him with Motwani. That ended up seeing Conant get a fourth straight year of having both doubles entrants into the state tournament. MSL rival Barrington (Suven Sinha/Aryan Sharma) are first-round opponents.
Fremd (Andrew Yin/Sean Hishinuma, 17-8): A three-set upset of No. 2 seed Deerfield at sectionals sent the Vikings' No. 2 tandem on its way to becoming the first doubles team to make state since 2013 when Erik Pohl/Sudheer Vundru did so. Coach Matt Duncan said prior to the postseason that his duo had the firepower to go far, and this team proved the head coach right. First-round opponent: Ben Manola-Sean Wangelin of Oak Park-River Forest.
Hersey (Jace Coffaro/Kevin Mi, 5-2): Despite just four matches together prior to the Highland Park sectional, the Huskies charged past the competition to win it all and advance to become the first from Hersey to do so since Matt Maciaszek/Kevin Thompson in 2005. The Huskies' defeat of 1A power Prairie Ridge (Lamar/Nasta) prior to sectionals may have been a forecast of even better news ahead for them. First-round opponent: St. Charles North (Ajay Gustafson/Conor Bajuk).
Libertyville (Nathan Valley/Kenny Herrmann, 18-14): The Marquette-bound Herrmann qualified during his sophomore season with then-partner Scott Daluga, going 4-2 that year, and returned last season with Valley to finish 2-2 in the tourney. Valley/Herrmann were NSC runners-up before a fourth-place finish last weekend at sectionals. First-round opponent: Lockport (Douglas Blomquist/Fernando Meraz).
Stevenson (Sai Merneedi/Eric Perkowski, 19-1): This freshman duo came a long way in their short time with the varsity, recording 17 straight-set victories out of their 19 wins, including six straight to win both the NSC and sectional title on their home courts. An impressive body of work during their first season gave them a 5-8 seed and a state opener with Keegan Thompson/Will McClure from Batavia - and possibly an eventual meeting with No. 2 New Trier (Reed Bianucci/Peter Leutz) in the quarterfinals.
Stevenson (Ozzie Viswanathan/Arjun Sheelvanth, 19-6): The Patriots' No. 2 team is here for a second consecutive time, following an 18-win season in 2017. The NSC champs at No. 2 and a 9-16 seed at state, they'll open up against Rockford Auburn (Will Snedegar/Glenn Dusing).
CLASS 1A SINGLES
Kyle Boudreau (Antioch, 16-3): The Sequoits star is now a three-time state qualifier after conceding just three games during his four straight-set victories to earn the first sectional title of his career after finishing second twice before. Coach Jamie D'Andrea says her best player has been instrumental in the resurgence of the Antioch program, running unofficial training sessions for newcomers and calling them 'Kyle's Workshop.' Boudreau will play next season at Augustana. First-round opponent: Zach Montgomery (Rockford Lutheran).
Andrew Butler (Lakes, 9-13): Coach Bryan Plinske figures a key three-set victory over Marian Central Catholic senior Traison Diedrich back in late April was the turning point in the season for Butler, who last weekend used a two-set victory over Diedrich to qualify. First-round opponent: Greg Rashid (Streator).
Brian Hackman (Wauconda, 18-0): This two-time sectional and conference champion is on a mission to better the second-place finish of his sister Sarah, who earned a state runner-up finish for Wauconda last fall. Brian had the best boys finish for the Bulldogs last fall, earning a 5-2 record in the tourney and a top-eight finish. The three-time state qualifier was 31-3 last season, a year after the Hillsdale College-bound Bulldogs star bagged 33 wins. An undefeated season netted him a a 3-4 seed and a state opener with Flora sophomore Matt Beckham. Within three victories is Raymond Richardson of Chicago De LaSalle, whom Hackman defeated in 6-4, 6-3 in consolation quarterfinal action last spring.
Dev Patel (Wauconda, 17-7): Patel joins teammate Brian Hackman in the state field, giving the Bulldogs a second straight year in which two players qualified. The junior could easily be most teams' No. 1 with a nice all-around game. First-round opponent: 9-16 seed, John Pooley (DePaul College Prep).
Matthew Pawlowski (Grayslake North, 15-11): A second trip to the state tournament for the Knights senior. This Lake Forest-bound four-year starter was named North's Male Scholar of the Year, scoring a dazzling 1480 on his SAT to go with an equally impressive 4.381 GPA, and taking 10 AP classes along the way as well. First-round opponent: 9-16 seed James Dill (Chicago U-High).
CLASS 1A DOUBLES
Grayslake Central (Jordan Ramsey/Greg Madjarov, 16-7): This is the second consecutive year Central has qualified, and third in the last four years after Carson Cerquone/Chase Whetham-Starbird advanced last season following their second-place sectional finish. Two years prior, Richard Hutchins/Tejas Paruthdoli became the first Rams doubles team since 2000 to get through. First-round opponent: 5-8 seed Northside Prep (Nicholas Biernadski-Justin Penaros).
Grayslake North (Alex Cisneroz/Brian Szramek, 15-11): The Knights have had their fair share of successful singles players advance, including Nate Campanile, but it wasn't until 2016 when they broke through with a doubles team, with Joe Kizhaakadthu teaming up with current North star Matthew Pawlowski. This year's Knights captains were each seven-semester honor roll students, with Szramek earning North's Male Sportsmanship Award this year. First-round opponent: Metamora (Grant Gutwein-Ethan Greenfield).
Lakes (Adam Hagman/Matthew Mercure, 16-7): Hagman/Mercure are just the fourth in program history to reach the state field, one year after Jake Gotlib/Jackson Hubert did so for the first time since Charlie Scupham/Justin Shea advanced in 2008 and two years prior. Hagman is off to play next fall at CLC, while Mercure will attend Illinois. First-round opponent: 9-16 seed Normal U-High (Thomas Moh-Mason Runkel).
Vernon Hills (Nikhil Mangtani/Matt Nguyen, 14-6): The Cougars' duo is back for a second straight year after recording a sparkling 19-5 overall record, with three of those defeats coming at the hands of 2A opponents. This season, Mangtani/Nguyen have had two four-game win streaks snapped by big school rivals, including sectional champ Matt Park/Ben Riad, the 9-16 seed from Glenbrook North. First-round opponent: Dixon (Daniel Ferguson-Jonathan Rivera).
Vernon Hills (Andrey Shor/Pranav Vaswani, 10-5): Coach Doug Gerber did not install Shor/Vaswani as his No. 2 team until late April, and they, along with their teammates, proved to be capable of nice wins streaks. First-round opponent: Tinley Park (Vince Arden/Guillermo Bahena).
State of affairsHinsdale Central locked up three of the top four seeds from the tournament committee, plus a 9-16 thanks to its talented freshman Danny Schmelka, all of which makes the Red Devils the team to beat this weekend. Team triumphs in two majors (Jay Kramer, Pitchford 32) also helps solidify Central's lofty status. The Red Devils look to fight off the advances of 2017 team champion Naperville Central, NSC champ Stevenson and perenial state powerhouse New Trier.
Just one year after splitting the classes, it's the usual suspects in the Class 1A title chase, with Normal U-High, Chicago U-High, Chicago Latin and Chicago Northside leading the way. Normal U-High finished 4 points behind eventual state champ Dunlap last year , falling short in part to being outscored at doubles by the three clubs in front of them. That appears not to be an issue this time around with the Pioneers owning the No. 1 seed, in addition to another at 9-16.
Class 2A top seedsSingles: Jack Randall (Lockport), Zach Elliot (Hinsdale Central), Alan Arocho (Loyola Academy), Danilo Kovacevic (Maine South): After his impressive showing at the Pitchford 32, and subsequent first class work since his two days at the 32, the Western Michigan bound Randall comes into the tournament as the No. 1 with his perfect 28-0 record. Last year's runner-up, Danilo Kovecevic (20-2), was passed over by Jay Kramer champ Elliot (20-3) and four-time state qualifier Alan Arocho (19-1), who beat Kovacevic in late April.
Doubles: Hinsdale Central (Trevor Hamilton/Andrew Buhelos, New Trier (Reed Bianucci/Peter Leutz), Naperville Central (Martin Matov/Ammaar Saed), Hinsdale Central (Joe Daw/Ansh Shah): The doubles competition was thrown upside-down when Pitchford 32 runner-up and potential top-two seed Edwardsville team of Alex Gray-Seth Lipe was dealt a tough blow with the news that Gray had suffered a broken bone in his right elbow following a fall at his home. With this unfortunate turn of events, all of the top teams were pushed up a notch, while giving 2017 runners-up Hamilton/Buhelos the inside track this weekend.
Class 1A top seedsSingles: Nathan Spear (Chicago Northside), Arjun Asokumar (Chicago U-High), Nicolas Welker (Burlington Central), Brian Hackman (Wauconda): A few new names earned top seed spots, including Hackman, who lost to both Spear (in the second round) and Welker to dash his hopes of a state medal last spring by falling 1 win short. Spear was third a year ago while Welker who is home schooled but calls Central his tennis home, was fifth overall.
Doubles: Normal University (John Friesen/Carter Burk), Chicago Latin (Jonathan Wujan/Tej Bahri), Dunlap (Steven Chacko/David Wu), Montini Catholic (Thomas and David Batka): The Chacko/Wu team lost in two sets to Chicago U-High in the state final last year but find themselves as a 3-4 seed behind 2017 fifth-place medal-winners Friesen/Burk, who nabbed the No. 1 seed. Montini Catholic, a nationally ranked wrestling power, looks to make its mark in tennis with the Batka brothers. Last year, David qualified at singles, Thomas at doubles.
- Mike Garofola