Naperville North's Patil making change for team

Aniket Patil is a fighter, according to his Naperville North coach, Heather Henricksen.

"He's pretty fearless on the court," Henricksen said. "He's got great self-discipline and he plays his game until the end of the match."

The coach decided recently to pair Patil with Marc Deetjen at doubles with an eye toward sectionals because Yasufumi Terada and Gordon Zhang, who had been partners, have been moved to singles.

Patil, the DuPage Valley Conference champion at third singles last year, played doubles earlier in the year and then switched to singles as Henricksen makes adjustments to find just the right combination for her talented Huskies.

"Aniket has been successful every time I put him in a different position," Henricksen said. "He's someone who knows how to step up when asked to. It's tough to change your game during the season, but somehow he can do it."

She said the biggest plus in Patil's game is that he has a lot of tools and he knows how to mix things up.

"He can slice, lob or hit flat," Henricksen said. "It's hard for opponents to figure him out. Aniket can change the pace of the game."

Patil and Deetjen, who was the DVC champ at second singles last year, have developed great chemistry in their short time together and they've been playing well at practice.

"As experienced singles players, they both have great groundstrokes," Henricksen said. "They're both very quick so they can cover the court. They have a high service percentage. They just have to learn how to play the net, and they're starting to get comfortable with that."

Quick learner: When you see Lake Park junior first-singles Craig Cichowicz in practice, he looks good. When you see him in a high-pressure match against a top player, he looks great.

That's the assessment of the Lancers coach Tim Martin, who has "never had a player pick up the game and improve as fast as Craig has."

"He's a great athlete and he played a lot of tennis in the off-season," Martin said. "He's a great competitor with all the shots. And he finds a way to come up with the shots he needs against the best players and on the biggest points. He's risen to the challenge of being No. 1."

Cichowicz attributes his improvement to the intensive work he and teammate Ivan Simic put in last off-season and the coaching he received at his tennis club.

"My game is all about agility and speed," Cichowicz said. "And the big improvements have been in my footwork and my mental game."

He might add competitiveness to his list of assets.

"When I see a player who is really good, I step up my game to a whole different level," Cichowicz said. "I know that you have to act like you're going to win the match and that puts pressure on the opponent. You have to focus on every point and go for it. You can't worry about the environment. I jut love playing under pressure when everyone's watching."

Cichowicz has big plans for this season that include winning the Upstate Eight Conference tournament at first singles and qualifying for state.

Picking up the slack: The big blow to the St. Francis tennis team came before the season even started, when Kyle Dawson injured his elbow and was declared out for the year.

While Dawson began recovery after undergoing Tommy John surgery last week, his Spartans teammates carry on with determination and some success.

Two weeks ago the Spartans finished second to Evanston in the Brother Rice Invitational, and then last week they won the Glenbard South quad.

"I'm so proud of our team," coach Marcia Bussey said. "Everyone has stepped up since Kyle was injured."

Bussey reports that Dawson will not be able to lift a racquet for six months and that he's hoping to be playing by next March when his senior season starts.

"Kyle has set the standard for how this team reacts," Bussey said. "He comes to every practice and every meet. He's a big part of the team even if he's not playing."

Tommy Castronovo and Spencer Angsten have been winning consistently at first and second singles and first doubles Patrick Sagan and Chris Pivonka were the champions at Glenbard South.

With Castronovo playing singles, his former partner Grant Conner has teamed with sophomore Michael Vail to form a competitive second-doubles team.

The Spartans are determined to capture the Suburban Catholic Conference championship.

"Everyone has matured so much as the season goes on," Bussey said. "This could have been a down year, but the team has really rallied together."