Stevenson's Blake Bazarnik aims to make his point

The Stevenson boys tennis team came 1 point short of winning last year's IHSA state championship.

Everyone on the team has since replayed the key matches in their minds. And when he reflects, junior Blake Bazarnik is not happy.

True, he reached the state quarterfinals in his second appearance at state. But what he remembers most are consecutive three-set losses in the main draw and consolation draw.

"I felt I should have won both of those matches," he said. "We only lost by 1 point and some of that is my fault. I didn't finish how I should have."

Bazarnik, who was battling minor back and hip injuries, cramped up in each match. After a tough summer where he was never healthy, Bazarnik resolved to make fitness a huge priority.

Now, when a match goes three sets it plays into Bazarnik's hands.

"He's quicker and way stronger; he's just in a lot better shape," Patriots coach Mark Linnenburger said.

As a result of his improved fitness, Bazarnik is content to be more patient and play longer points.

"Instead of going for so many shots, I can wait for the right opportunity," he said. "I'm not getting injured anymore and I'm not getting as tired during tournaments."

A perfect example of this came less than a month ago when the 5-foot-10 Bazarnik won the Midwest Designated Tournament. In the championship match, he lost the first set 6-2 to Glenbrook North's Michael Moore, a 6-foot-4 Notre Dame recruit.

In the second set, Bazarnik trailed 4-2 before ripping off the next four games.

"It seemed like that's where my fitness kicked in," Bazarnik said.

The third set was a 10-set tiebreaker and Bazarnik emerged with a 12-10 victory.

"He has a huge serve and a big game," Bazarnik said. "I always have a hard time against him, but I fought real hard and didn't give him anything. If he won a point, he had to earn it."

Bazarnik said he has made good strides with his serve since last year and he's mixing up his game more. About twice a week, he hits with Warren senior Denis Bogatov, the defending state champion.

"We get along great and we played some doubles over the summer," Bazarnik said.

Although Bazarnik's goal is to play in college at a good Division I school, he said he never seriously considered attending a tennis academy.

"I wouldn't want to be where it's all tennis all the time," he said. "I wanted to do the whole high school thing."

And at or near the top of the whole high school thing is playing high school tennis.

"We have a great team where everybody gets along," Bazarnik said.

And it helps when your No. 1 player is as low-maintenance as Bazarnik.

"If I tell him something, he'll listen and try to do it," Linnenburger said. "It's rare to find a player that is that good and that coachable."