Big, bad Barrington

Barrington boys tennis coach John Roncone was nervously pacing behind the backstop Saturday afternoon at Fremd High School.

Roncone was merely steps behind the court where his No. 3 doubles team of Cam McLelland and Doug Nordli were fighting in the third set of their Mid-Suburban League tournament match against Prospect's Dave Aron and Mike Rusin.

To watch Roncone's intensity, one could only logically assume that the Broncos' conference tournament fate was in the hands of their third doubles team, who happened to be the last remaining match of the day.

Ironically, this match had no bearing on the outcome, and Roncone knew that.

His team had already wrapped up a first-place finish in the MSL tournament. Still, to him, the important fact of the moment was that he had one more team that needed to win.

Such is the mindset of the defending MSL champion Barrington Broncos, who can add a repeat conference title to a stellar 2008 season which included a West Division title.

En route to soundly defeating their conference competitors at Fremd, the Broncos did not just narrowly squeak out a victory.

They sent team representatives to square off in all but one of the championship matches. In all, the Broncos edged out Fremd and Prospect who tied for second place, by a rather substantial margin of victory.

With McLelland and Nordli winning their match in dramatic fashion to end the day's festivities, the Broncos walked away with first place in second singles (Kevin Karande) as well as first, third, and fourth doubles.

"The kids understand what we've been able to create (these past few years) and they want to uphold that," Roncone said. "This is a heck of an accomplishment from a great bunch of kids who never gave up on themselves."

The Broncos' state qualifying first doubles team of Matt Barns and Alex Nemz, who remain undefeated at 8-0 on the season, were flawless Saturday as they defeated a stellar duo of Palatine twin brothers, Carlos and Rafael Robles, 6-2, 6-2 to take home top billing in conference.

"We just try to minimize errors out there," Nemz said. "We try to just have fun (because) we tend to play best when we're having a good time out there."

Buffalo Grove senior Jonah Schwartz certainly knows how to have a good time on the court as well.

Although after defeating Prospect's Tom Kujawa 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 to take first place in No. 1 one singles action, Schwartz remained modest.

"I didn't come mentally prepared to conference," Schwartz said. "Once I played a really tough opponent like (Kujawa), he took advantage of the fact that I wasn't fired up. I have to give him a lot of respect for that."

For Schwartz, success in MSL conference play is practically a family tradition. The youngest of three boys, Jonah has seen firsthand how to win at the high school level as he watched his brothers Josh and Joe lead the Bison tennis program over the past decade.

"(Tennis) and academics are first priorities," Schwartz explained. "My goal has always been to play college tennis and I've set (that goal) since I was 14. I've been working really hard at it."

While Schwartz and Barrington's ensemble of talented athletes were stealing the spotlight, several Fremd and Prospect players were quietly making their presence felt.

The Vikings, in addition to finishing second in fourth doubles, notched a key upset victory at No. 2 doubles, with a clutch win by Andrew Hall and Matt Bloomshed 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 over Barrington's Dave Martin and Greg Mulligan.

Prospect, despite failing to win any first-place medals, took home second prize in third doubles, as well as first and second singles.

"We really had a strong meet," said Prospect coach Rick Huffman. "We didn't win every match, but we were battlers and were right there. You can't ask for more then that."

With conference now in the books, Barrington, Fremd, Prospect, and the rest of the MSL teams can start preparing for the tough challenge that is sectional play.

Roncone is not worried, however. He's simply focused on the task at hand, like always.

"Let's hope we can get every boy through (at sectionals)," said Roncone. "You just have to play and if we play, we're confident that we can represent ourselves well."

The Broncos certainly did that on Saturday.