Stevenson hopes team spirit leads to team title
To make a run at a state tennis title, you need players to make sacrifices.
A good example is Stevenson senior Allen Pukshansky. His willingness to move from singles to doubles has played a big role in the Patriots' success this season.
Stevenson is one of the favorites to win the team title at the IHSA state tournament today through Saturday at host Hersey High School and various sites in the Northwest suburbs.
Pukshansky was a strong No. 2 singles player last year, but senior Chris Speer rejoined the team this season and took that spot.
The freshman tandem of Ross Putterman and David Packowitz was locked in at No. 1 doubles, so Pukshansky made a graceful transition to No. 2 doubles. He is paired with junior Nick Stephan and they are a No. 9-16 seed for the state tournament.
"Allen is such an important part of our team," coach Mark Linnenburger said. "He's one of those kids that doesn't complain and does whatever you ask him to do and he does it well. He's got really quick hands and he hits shots I don't know if anybody else in the field can hit."
Putterman and Packowitz earned a No. 5-8 seed.
"They're playing better strategy-wise," Linnenburger said. "They're moving and getting some easier points."
In singles, sophomore Blake Bazarnik is a No. 3-4 seed.
"His play hasn't surprised me one bit," Speer said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence and keeps on getting better."
After losing 6-0 in the first set of a sectional quarterfinal match against Fremd's Brian Piotrowski, Speer rallied to win the next two sets. This moved him into the semifinals and assured that Stevenson would be represented at state with two singles players and two doubles teams.
"In a lot of ways that match was our state tournament," Linnenburger said. "If he doesn't pull that match out, we have no shot of (winning) at state. His (victory) sets us up to potentially make a run this weekend as long as everybody plays well."
Warren junior Denis Bogatov also is primed to make a run at a singles state title. He earned the No. 2 seed and is 1-1 this season against No. 1 seed Glenbrook North's Eric Spector.
"I feel like I've improved a lot since last year," Bogatov said. "I get more free points on my serve now."
Warren junior Jon Donnowitz will be playing in his first state tournament. His improved conditioning this season has led to more victories.
"He lost almost every three-set match he played last year, and this season he's won some big three-set matches," Warren coach Greg Cohen said. "He's worked hard and we think he has a lot of skill."