Parity could be key word for Fox Valley area teams

The 2009 area boys high school season is one that has a number of different storylines to it.

For starters what about the races in the two local major conferences (Fox Valley and Upstate Eight)? In the FVC, all signs point to perennial power Prairie Ridge as the favorite. But keep an eye on locals Jacobs, Crystal Lake South and Cary-Grove. All of the Elgin area U-46 teams have their strong suits with Elgin and Larkin returning key players from a year ago.

The area also has a smattering of returning state qualifiers to keep an eye on with Elgin Academy's David Kaufman, Cary-Grove's Chris Federighi and Streamwood's Yuto Tsukida.

There are also two new area coaches in St. Edward's Mark Sommerville and Hamsphire's Jon Betts. Both are familiar tennis coaching faces. Sommerville is also the Green Wave's girls coach, while Betts coaches the Jacobs girls. Hampshire is in its first year as a tennis program.

Looking to the postseason, Cary-Grove will host a sectional that includes Crystal Lake South. Jacobs, Dundee-Crown, Elgin Academy, Elgin, Larkin, St. Edward, Hampshire, Huntley and Streamwood will join Barrington at the Larkin sectional, while Bartlett and South Elgin will compete in the St. Charles East sectional.

Here's a brief look at all of the area teams:

Bartlett: Hawks coach Brian Page has been pleased with the No. 1 doubles combo of seniors Brian Howes and Kyle Infanti. "Brian and Kyle stand to do quite well," said Page. Junior J.T. Kissane, sophomore Umair Quraishi and freshman Brad Henning head up the singles roster for Bartlett. Quraishi is currently slated for the No. 1 position. "We're looking for some guys to step up," said Page. "These guys have put in a lot of time and effort into tennis during the winter."

Cary-Grove: The Trojans return key singles players in sophomore Chris Federighi (No. 1) and senior Eric Schimmel (No. 2). Federighi went 20-5 as a freshman and qualified for state in doubles. Schimmel is coming off a 14-5 campaign. Seniors Danny Eggensammer, Rory Saylor, Cory Tatman and Connor Frank will also contribute. "We'll be alright at the top of the lineup," said Cary-Grove coach Bud Lachel. "We'd like to get a couple of singles players and a doubles team to state this year."

Crystal Lake South: South appears to be in good shape with all three singles players returning and four doubles players back from last year's team that took fourth in the conference. Singles players Cam Laktash (No. 1, Soph.), Jared Favaro (No. 2, Sr.) and Alec Shimon (No.3, Sr.) return along with the doubles quartet of senior Kenny Dolan and juniors Andy Deboer, Dan Arnold and Brad Wiegand. South has 54 players out for the program this year. "We've got a lot of players going for the other four spots," said South coach Don Nead. "We've got a nice nucleus here to build around. We are going to be competitive."

Elgin: Veteran coach Larry DeHaan has a team filled with returning talent, headlined by senior Nick Montgomery (No.1 doubles), junior Danny Keonasavong (No. 1 singles) and sophomore Daniel Hegel (No. 1 doubles). Seniors Behroz Khan, Ron Mancenido and Izzy Hernandez, along with juniors Hiep Du, Tyler Altieri and Andrew Chen and sophomore Adam Hong are also back. "We have some depth on our team," said DeHaan. "We will be tested through experience. The outlook is good for this group."

Elgin Academy: Standout junior David Kaufman leads a list of returners for the Hilltoppers. Kaufman became the first boys tennis player in school history to qualify for state last year. Junior Nick Garcia and sophomore Christian Lynn will also be key contributors for coach Lyle Roebuck. Freshman Charlie Vogel is a newcomer to keep an eye on. "Charlie is phenomenal in his own right," said Roebuck. Freshman Joey Heisley and senior Eric Kammerer will team in the doubles division. "We're a stronger team than we were last year," said Roebuck.

Hampshire: Jacobs girls coach Jon Betts takes control of the first-year Hampshire boys program. Junior Farhan Shakeel and freshman Christian Dela Cruz will be top contributors for the Whip-Purs. "This is Hampshire's first boys season," said Betts. "Though inexperienced, we hope to work toward improving every day and putting together a competitive product on the court."

Huntley: The Red Raiders should be improved from last year with a number of key starters back in the lineup. That list includes Seniors McKenz Roeser, Mike Habrat (No. 1 doubles), Art Ardanas (No. 1 doubles) and Byungsung Yoo and junior Cameron Marzejon (No. 1 singles currently). Senior Francis Ramirez and sophomore Eric Loboda are key newcomers for coach Barry Wells. "We want to be as competitive as we can this year," said Wells. "This group's attitude is very positive and their work ethic is very good. They want to improve and they want to get better. We've seen some big improvements, especially with the younger players." Huntley has a record 42 players in the program this year.

Larkin: The Royals are top-heavy with returning talent at the front of the lineup this season. Junior No. 1 singles player Nick Schlegel is back, along with the top two doubles combinations of juniors Selwyn Hansana and Eddie Senesombath (No. 1 doubles) and the senior pairing of Jesse Perez and Casey Siripanya (No. 2 doubles). Seniors Aldo Mendoza and Andy Ratsavongxay and junior Sterling Perez are also back. "This team has a great work ethic and has contributed to develop by working hard in the off-season," said Larkin coach Bob Young, whose team went 15-13 last year. "I am hoping for us to surprise some people this year and look for us to be competitive in every match. I fully expect this team to enjoy a successful campaign if they continue to develop in their ability to handle pressure, execute the fundamentals and use proven strategies." Larkin did graduate the state-qualifying doubles team of Scott Shriver and Tyler Compere.

Jacobs: The Golden Eagles are fresh off a 12-win campaign from a year ago (7-4 in Fox Valley Conference play) and return a number of key contributors from that group including seniors Andy Ademe (1 doubles), Greg Roeckner, Nick Kaczar, John Tueber and Brandon Buettner, along with juniors Tom Schreiner (1 singles), Colin Forbes (2 singles) and Mike Romor, along with sophomore Brian Kaczar. Junior David Lam and sophomore Kinchit Joshi are key additions. "The younger players have gained experience and (have) become more mature in the off-season," said Jacobs coach Barry Hanrahan. "The current juniors and seniors will be tested in the top part of the lineup because two graduating seniors left holes at first singles and first doubles."

South Elgin: Senior Kevin Henry (1 or 2 doubles) and sophomores Colin Ferry (1 or 2 singles) and Zach Bohlin (1 doubles) return for the Storm. Sophomore Rowell Siazon (2 doubles) and freshman Ivan Abadines (3 doubles) are key additions. "We are practicing hard to improve from last year, especially with the doubles teams," said South Elgin coach Jennifer Shaughnessy. "We are looking forward to playing matches and really showcase our strengths and highlight areas we still need to work on."

Streamwood: State-qualifier Yuto Tsukida (No. 1 singles) is back for the Sabres along with juniors Hideki Soejima (No. 2 singles) and Nick Moser (No. 3 singles). "Last year we had no seniors," said Streamwood coach Miriam Abe. "We've got everybody returning this year with more experience. Hopefully our performance will be better than last year." Tsukida has been impressive during the early going. "He's looking strong," said Abe.

St. Edward: Green Wave girls coach Mark Sommerville has taken over the boys program as well. He inherits a team that returns the likes of seniors T.C. Grant and Andrew Richmond, along with juniors Jim Cholewa and Louis Sandoval and sophomore Anthony Abbate. "We'll be a younger team, but this group is working hard," said Sommerville. "We're shuffling guys around between singles and doubles. We've still got some more planning to do before the first match. Our goal is to get better every day."

Editor's note: Dundee-Crown did not return messages for this preview.