Boys tennis / conference previews

Mid-Suburban League

Host: Elk Grove

When: Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Where:

Elk Grove: Nos. 1 singles-doubles (all finals, noon).

Conant: No. 2 singles and doubles.

Rolling Meadows: No. 3 singles, Nos. 3 and 4 doubles.

2008 champion: Barrington.

FIRST SET: Perennial front-runners Barrington, Fremd and Prospect all have enough to considered the favorites, but upstart Hersey with a trio of talent at singles may help decide eventual champion, as will individual efforts from others throughout the 7 flights, who can make their imprint on this tournament while stating a case for sectional recognition next weekend.

SECOND SET: The MSL has been hard hit through graduation sending talented state qualifying players off to the collegiate side, with just a few replaced with their equals to take their turn atop the tennis ladder. This year is no different, with not one champion from either singles and doubles returning, perhaps making a wide-open race that much bigger when all is said and done on Saturday.

All eyes will be on the No. 1 singles flights with state qualifiers Kenta Shimizu (Fremd) and Izzi Balase (Schaumburg) earning the 1-2 seeds. Takuma Ito of Conant, who is 1-1 with Balase this season, takes the No. 3 seed over Hersey junior Eric Klawitter, who has done well in his first season as the Huskies' top player.

Tourney favorite Fremd did well for itself during the seeding proceedings, landing top seeds with Shimizu, Ryan Kreis (No. 2 singles) and at No. 2 doubles, where the freshman duo of Mike Artov and Ryosuki Miyawaki edged Barrington's Jim Deroche and Doug Nordli by virtue of a 3-set victory in late April.

"It's great to finally be able to get the top two seed(s) all across each flight - now we have to take advantage of it," said Fremd coach Ken Goettsche.

It will be interesting to see how things shake down at No. 1 doubles, where the voting was tight, to see who would grab the top four seeds, while a potential second-round match between the No. 4 seed Prospect (Jon Kiefer-Sam Pope) against No. 5 Palatine (Rafael Robles- Mikey Woolf) could prove vital not only in the Knights race for the MSL crown, but also at the Stevenson sectional in one week, where a win or loss could affect seeding considerations.

Barrington (David Martin-Cam McClelland) went 8-0 in the MSL, including a straight-set victory (6-3, 7-5) over No. 2 Owen Marsden and Nick Mackowecki (Fremd, 6-2). Kiefer and Pope were 6-2, however one of its losses were at the hands of Fremd.

No. 4 Buffalo Grove (Alec Martino-George Foutris) are right there and a dangerous opponent on the Fremd side of the bracket.

GAME, SET, MATCH: A quick glance at the final outcome of division deciding duals in the final week of the regular season shows victories claimed in doubles would help both Fremd and Prospect survive against Barrington and Hersey to win their respective titles.

With that said, the tournament could come down to who steps forward at Nos. 3-4, and which club strikes first in head-to-head matches.

"Ken's (Goettsche) kids played very well this season and were deserving of the great seeds that they received," said Barrington coach John Roncone.

"We have our work cut out for us this weekend, but we are looking forward to the challenge in what looks like a very competitive tournament."

ESCC

Host: St. Viator

When: Thursday (noon) and Saturday (8 a.m.)

Where:

Harper College: (Nos. 1 and 2 singles/doubles); finals (all) Saturday.

Forest View Educational Center: No. 2 singles.

Pioneer Park (Arlington Heights Park District courts): No. 3 doubles.

Defending champion: St. Viator.

Outlook: The Lions defeated Benet by the narrow margin of 2 points (71-69) to capture its first ESCC title and end the 17-year stranglehold the Redwings had on the league crown. Terrific balance at all flights helped the Lions gain the top prize, but it was the two individual titles at Nos. 1 and 2 singles from Andre Rice and Taylor Blaney that may have been the difference.

Blaney is back and now the Lions' No. 1 player, and after a slow start has picked up a head of steam heading into the weekend, where no less than five others may have the opportunity to play in the final, including David Hebda (Notre Dame) who was third last year, sophomore Alex Haizel (Marist) and freshman phenom Julian Childers of Marian Catholic.

Junior Dean Tanglis, who was half of the Lions' No. 1 doubles team last season, is a strong candidate to score high at No. 2 singles.

- Mike Garofola