Boys tennis: Hot start suits fifth-place Barrington

Mid-Suburban League boys tennis champion Barrington finds itself in the best place it's been in several years after the first day of the state tournament wrapped up on a steamy Thursday afternoon.

With three of its four teams still competing, the Broncos are tied for fifth in the team standings with Glenbrook South at 11 points.

Hinsdale Central, Stevenson and New Trier have all their entrants still in the front draw and are tied for the team lead with 16 points. Defending Class 2A state champ Naperville Central is 1 point behind the leaders.

When matches resume at 8 a.m. Friday, Barrington will call upon both of its doubles teams plus sophomore Bradley Yu in pursuit of a top-10 team finish. It would be the first time for that kind of placement since the 2001 season.

"This is what we play for, individual and team awards, that's what makes this time of the season so much fun," said junior Dylan Er last week after the Broncos clinched the sectional title at Cary-Grove.

Er and his doubles partner Kyle Shuff (20-2) enjoyed a terrific first day at the tournament, winning two straight-set contests to advance. They'll next 5-8 seed Griffin Foster/Christo Maltby (21-4) of Glenbard West.

"We had a very good warm-up today, and I felt that Kyle and I were prepared for the heat and the competition," said Er. "And when we came out in that first match, everything just clicked for us, and it never really stopped."

The Er/Shuff earned a 9-16 tournament seed, thanks in part to the MSL and sectional titles they won on back-to-back weekends.

Their doubles teammates, Suven Sinha/Aryan Sharma, survived to play another day after an impressive 6-1, 6-4 victory over Edwardsville. The Tigers appeared destined to earn a 1-2 seed until Alex Gray suffered an injury at the sectional, leaving Seth Lipe without his top partner.

The Gray/Lipe tandem was a runner-up to Hinsdale Central at the prestigious Pitchford 32. Freshman Ben Blake took over for the injured Gray.

Sinha/Sharma next meets a Glenbrook North duo on Friday morning at Prospect, while Er/Shuff will be in action at Rolling Meadows.

Yu (20-4) had a rough start to his day but came back from a 7-5, 7-5 defeat at the hands of 5-8 seed Dominick Cuchran (Lyons Township) to beat Johnny Wallace (Crystal Lake Central) one week after winning the same matchup in a sectional semifinal.

Next up for Barrington's sophomore is 9-16 seed, Phanu Sirinit (Wheaton Warrenville South, 20-4) on Friday morning at Wheeling.

Max Sheldon (23-8) experienced the full range of ups and downs of his first state tournament. The Hersey freshman first won a three-hour marathon over 9-16 seed Nick Hedba of Notre Dame.

Sheldon then came back to face the towering 6-foot-4 presence of Shaddy Khalafallah (Moline). That one ended with Khalafallah claining a 6-3, 6-2 win.

The tournament ended for Sheldon with a loss to Ben Lee of Benet Academy, 7-6 (5) in the first set followed by a 3-0 injury default in the second.

"That three-hour match really took a lot out of me," said Sheldon, just after his loss at the hands of Khalafallah. "The Moline player was big and strong and could really hit some big serves and forehand shots, and I did all I could against him."

Sheldon's rookie year was a memorable one, as it included MSL and sectional titles.

Hersey's Jace Coffaro/Kevin Mi (7-3) will play on the second day, using consecutive wins after a first round loss to stay alive in the doubles consolation bracket. Next for them will be MSL rivals Nico Rosas/Vera Iyer of Conant on Friday morning at Prospect.

Rosas/Iyer (8-4) overcame a close two-set loss to Lyons Township in the front draw to pick up wins over Rockford Auburn and Highland Park. The Cougars' No. 2 team, Kaahan Motwani/Andrew Miles was not as fortunate, eliminated after a 1-2 day.

Fremd freshman Casey Hishinuma (19-10) will play four-time state qualifier Kerwin Chong of Jacobs (32-6) in his backdraw singles match at Wheeling, while the Vikings' doubles team of Andrew Yin/Sean Hishinuma (18-10) was unable to keep the momentum going after 6-3, 6-2 opening-round victory.

"Andrew is a lefty with a big serve that gives opponents trouble, while Sean is so good with his volleys, which makes them a perfect doubles team," said Fremd coach Matt Duncan. "If they continue to play in the off-season as they did last year, that will be a team to really watch next season."

All Round of 16 winners in both 1A and 2A will travel to Hersey to play in the quarterfinals, while backdraw play will continue at the various venues in the MSL.