Boys tennis conference preview
Mid-Suburban League
Where: Fremd (No. 1 singles-doubles), Palatine (No. 2 singles, Nos. 2 and 4 doubles), Rolling Meadows (No. 3 singles-doubles).
When: Play started Thursday and continues at 3:30 p.m. today. On Saturday at Fremd, semifinals start at 8:30 a.m. with finals at noon.
Players to watch
No.1 singles (In order of seeding): Jonah Schwartz (Buffalo Grove), Tom Kujawa (Prospect), Brian Piotrowski (Fremd), Izzi Balase (Schaumburg), Mark Sansait (Rolling Meadows) and Max Fetzer (Barrington).
Schwartz is the clear No. 1 with his 17-4 record (5-0 in the MSL) and his recent effort the Pitchford 32 were he defeated potential top-4 state finisher Augie Bloom of Hinsdale Central in what on paper is the deepest this position has been in recent memory. Kujawa (6-1), who defeated Piotrowski 6-1, 6-3, was 3rd last season at this tournament, while the Illinois Wesleyan-bound Piotrowski was the champ at No. 2 singles before qualifying a week later at doubles.
No. 2 singles: Kevin Karande (Barrington), Sam Pope (Prospect), Yuriy Nartov (Buffalo Grove), Joe Kim (Rolling Meadows), Ryan Borst (Schaumburg), Arjun Puranik (Fremd).
An important and potential terrific semifinal match looms if Pope (5-0) and Nartov (6-2) advance on the bottom end of the bracket.
No. 3 singles: Scott McLaughlin (Rolling Meadows), Zack Kasiurak (Barrington), Matt Werderitch (Prospect) and Eugene Itskovich (Conant) are the top 4 in a group which has no undefeated players.
Doubles: Barrington swept all 4 flights when it met Fremd to help the Broncos win 5-2 and clinch the division, and it is at this position in which the defending MSL champs could distance themselves from all the others.
Matt Barns and Alex Nemz, both state qualifiers, earned top billing at No. 1 with its 7-0 record, while teammates Dave Martin-Greg Mulligan (No. 2) join No. 4 (John Maselli-Joe Tabak) at the top spot. Martin and Mulligan were superb en route to a fourth-place finish at the "32."
Maselli-Tabak were given the nod over the Hersey team of Alex Moore and Jim Druffel. Prospect (Dave Aron-Mike Rusin) and Barrington (Cam McClelland-Doug Nordli) are the top 2 seeds at No. 3.
Team race: John Roncone is proud of the fact Barrington still has a chance of winning the MSL tourney this weekend. Seems strange to hear talk of a storied tennis program such as the Broncos not to be considered as a strong favorite on the eve on this conference tournament, instead of a mere mention of still having a chance to win as Roncone would state.
"I could not be more proud of this group of players this season," said Roncone. "They have exceeded all of our expectations thus far. But the fact or the matter is, we will need a terrific effort from everyone this weekend, especially by our 3-4 doubles (teams) and our entire lineup at singles if we have the hope of coming away with the title."
The Broncos will look to start fast and finish even faster as they seek a second-straight title against their toughest challengers in MSL East champ Prospect and long-time MSL West rival and runner-up Fremd. Right now it's all about team first, making what many believe to be an individual sport ... the ultimate team contest.
Courtside chatter
"I think Barrington and Fremd will be hard to take down, after that, I believe third-place is there for the taking." -- BG coach Kevin Schrammel
"Since Barrington beat Fremd in their dual, I'd have to say they are the favorite going into this weekend. With that said, if we play to our ability at singles, and our doubles teams find a way to win a few 3-setters (we lost 5 during the season) we will be in the hunt." -- Prospect coach Rick Huffman
East Suburban Catholic Conference
Where: Marian Catholic High School, Chicago Heights
When: Finals at 9 a.m. Saturday
What to watch: After a loss to perennial ESCC champion Benet (9-0) during the first week of the season, runner-up St. Viator (8-1) might be just about ready to shake loose the 17-year hold the Redhawks have on the big trophy.
The eventual conference team championship is determined by regular season wins plus tournament points garnered over the two days, a stat not lost on that first-year head coach Dan Tripamer.
"Although we lost that early season dual with Benet, we will enter the tournament in the lead thanks to our 39-6 overall record in match play versus (Benet's) 35-10," said Tripamer. "We really feel that we are playing our best tennis of the season right now, and that there is an excellent opportunity for us to finally win the title in the ESCC this weekend."
Tripamer will lean heavily on his top 2 players in Andrew Rice (No. 1) and sophomore Taylor Blaney at No. 2 singles, who between them are 9-0 in the ESCC.
Rice (19-3) will look to conclude his regular season high school career on a high note, and jump-start another successful post-season run toward a second-straight state tournament appearance as he searches to earn his second ESCC title at No. 1 singles after winning it all two years ago.
Blaney (18-3), who is considered the favorite to win at No. 2 singles, finished third last season in the tournament at No. 1 doubles along with Peter Herrman.
The Lions' No. 1 doubles team (Mike Zielinski-Dean Tanglis) arrives with an overall record of 18-4 (7-2) and appear to be on course to face the Benet duo of either Mike Savino-Matt Schutt or Mark Angel-Tim Martin.
Benet coach Michael Hand paired Savino-Schutt together at the 14-team NaperValley Invite last weekend at No. 1, while Angel-Martin were penciled in at No. 2 and would come away with a third-place finish. Angel-Martin were ESCC champs last spring at No. 1.