Stevenson leads by 1 behind frosh duo
Stevenson's shot to take a commanding lead in the boys state tennis tournament took a detour Friday.
The Patriots' top singles player, Blake Bazarnik, fell in the championship bracket, and the No. 2 doubles team of Alan Pukshanky and Nick Stephan was eliminated in the backdraw.
Even though the good ship Stevenson took on some water, coach Mark Linnenburger's Patriots still remain atop the team standings 34-33 over defending state champion Hinsdale Central, with New Trier (32) third.
"It's going to make for an interesting final day of the tournament," said Linnenburger, just minutes after watching senior Chris Speer romp over New Trier's Ben Mirkin in the backdraw to earn the point that gave the Patriots the lead, as well as knocking out an important player for New Trier.
The Patriots will pin their title hopes on Bazarnik's and Speer's ability to stay alive in the backdraw to gather points -- plus the continued splendid play from their doubles team of 5-8 seed Ross Putterman-David Packowitz.
Putterman-Packowitz won twice to earn a berth in today's semifinals at Hersey at 9 a.m. against the 3-4 seed from Rockford Guilford, Scott Shepherdson-Dan Park (30-1).
The Patriots' pair has demonstrated all the poise and maturity reserved for four-year veterans and not the freshmen they are. They opened the day with a hard-fought, three-set victory over upset-minded 9-16 seed Hinsdale Central.
The Patriots cruised to a 6-2 win in the first set, only to be stung by fired-up Josh Sink-Paul Cooper, who earned a 6-2 victory in the second set.
Down 4-2 and at deuce in the third set, the Patriots rallied and eventually took the third set 7-5 to capture the match.
There was little stress or anxiety for the Patriots' faithful when Putterman-Packowitz (31-2) bounced No. 2 seed Highland Park (Josh Berman-Tyler Manci).
"With all of the matches together on the USTA circuit, and this season in so many pressure-packed matches against quality opponents, those guys just don't play or look like freshmen out there," said Stevenson assistant Tom Stanhope, who was courtside during the 6-0, 6-4 victory over Highland Park.
"We heard a coach earlier in the tournament say we were 'just' freshmen, and I think it really fired us up from there on out," Packowitz said.
"We're not taking anything for granted this weekend, but we're still having a lot of fun out there," Putterman said.
Bazarnik (27-4) breezed past a quality fourth-round opponent in Drew Feder (27-5) of Peoria Richwoods 6-4, 6-0 to set up his quarterfinal match against Mac McAnutly (23-2) of Chicago Latin -- who, with his continuous barks and bites with officials and courtside fans, defeated the 3-4 seed 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Bazarnik, a sophomore, will face Matt Goralka of Payton today at 8 a.m.
"All of that (other) stuff during our match did not have an influence on the outcome," said Bazarnik, who took a 10-minute injury break early in the third set to attend to left leg cramps. Later when the right leg did the same, the condition nearly rendered the Patriots star helpless against the big-hitting McAnulty.
"I think Blake thought he had let the team down (after) his loss, when in fact he's been a great leader and player for us," said Patriots coach Mark Linnenburger.
Speer (27-4) gave 3-4 seed Michael Moore of Glenbrook South all he could handle in the fourth-round match that Moore won 6-4, 7-6 (1).
"We both played very well, and Michael was just a little bit better in the end," said Speer, who meets 9-16 Chase Klaus (31-3) of Peoria Richwoods.
For one set, Klaus put a scare into top-seeded Eric Spector until the Glenbrook North senior broke open the match.
Pukshansky and Stephan saw their high school careers end after back-to-back losses to 5-8 seed Lyons and Neuqua Valley in the backdraw.
The No. 1 tandem from Warren, Igor Federov-Konrad Siczek, also saw its four-year run end with a sixth-round loss in the backdraw to Hinsdale Central's Dan Ballantine-Ian Tesmond 6-1, 6-1.